NYSCF Innovator Explores Gamma Rhythm Synchronization in the Visual Cortex
NewsNYSCF – Robertson Neuroscience Investigator Dr. Hillel Adesnik and his team at the University of California, Berkeley, reported their latest work studying the effect of gamma band rhythms in the brain. These rhythms may synchronize cells across different areas of the brain, facilitating in information transfer; however, the underlying mechanisms of how this works are poorly understood.
The research, published in Nature Neuroscience, used complex optogenetic manipulation in live animals and implicated a specific type of interneuron, called dendrite-targeting somatostatin interneurons, as critical for a context-dependent gamma rhythm and required for long distance cellular coherence across the visual cortex. This work establishes an alternative dendritic mechanism for synchronizing cells in the visual cortex.