Long-range cortical synchronization without concomitant oscillations in the somatosensory system of anesthetized cats

To determine whether neuronal oscillations are essential for long-range cortical synchronization in the somatosensory system, we characterized the incidence and response properties of gamma range oscillations (20-80 Hz) among pairs of synchronized neurons in primary (SI) and secondary (SII) somatosensory cortex. Synchronized SI and SII discharges, which occurred within a 3 msec period, were detected in 13% (80 of 621) of single-unit pairs and 25% (29 of 118) of multiunit pairs. Power spectra derived from the auto-correlation histograms (ACGs) revealed that ∼15% of the neurons forming synchronized pairs were characterized by oscillations. Although 24% of the synchronized neuron pairs (19/80) were characterized by oscillations in one or both neurons, only 1% (1/80) of these pairs displayed oscillations at the same frequency in both neurons. Similar results were observed among pairs of multiunit responses. When single-trial responses were analyzed, the vast majority of responses still did not exhibit oscillations in the gamma frequency range. These results suggest that separate populations of cortical neurons can be bound together without being constrained by the phase relationships defined by specific oscillatory frequencies.