IMR Press / FBL / Volume 14 / Issue 1 / DOI: 10.2741/3246

Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark (FBL) is published by IMR Press from Volume 26 Issue 5 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.

Article
The roles of gamma-band oscillatory synchrony in human visual cognition
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1 CNRS LENA UPR640 Cognitive Neuroscience and Brain Imaging, 47 bd de l'Hôpital 75013 Paris, France
Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2009, 14(1), 321–332; https://doi.org/10.2741/3246
Published: 1 January 2009
Abstract

Oscillatory synchrony in the gamma (30-120 Hz) range has initially been related both theoretically and experimentally to visual grouping. Its functional role in human visual cognition turns out to be much broader, especially when attention, memory or awareness are concerned. Induced gamma oscillations are thus not related to a single cognitive function, and are probably better understood in terms of a population mechanism taking advantage of the neuron's fine temporal tuning: the 10-30 ms time precision imposed by gamma-band rhythms could favor the selective transmission of synchronized information (attention) and foster synaptic plasticity (memory). Besides, gamma oscillatory synchrony also seems related to the emergence of visual awareness. The recent discovery that gamma oscillations could appear simultaneously in distinct areas at distinct frequencies and with different functional correlates further suggests the existence of a flexible multiplexing schema, integrating frequency bands within the gamma range but also at lower frequency bands. Understanding how and when oscillations at different frequencies interact has become a major challenge for the years to come.

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