Circuit and cell-type mechanisms of the spectrolaminar motif of cortical oscillations

Herrera, B.; Ito, S.; Haufler, D.; Dai, K.; Abdaltawab, A.; Li, Y.; Sennesh, E. Z.; Mendoza-Halliday, D.; Bastos, A. M.; Arkhipov, A.

doi:10.64898/2026.11.04.763717

bioRxiv · 10.64898/2026.11.04.763717

Circuit and cell-type mechanisms of the spectrolaminar motif of cortical oscillations

Herrera, B.·Ito, S.·Haufler, D.·Dai, K.·Abdaltawab, A.·Li, Y.·Sennesh, E. Z.·Mendoza-Halliday, D.·Bastos, A. M.·Arkhipov, A.

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Abstract

Oscillations are a key feature of cortical activity, coordinating spike timing across areas, layers, and cell types. Recent work suggests these rhythms follow a stereotyped organization across cortical depth, the spectrolaminar (SL) motif, with higher-frequency gamma prominent in superficial layers and lower-frequency alpha/beta in deep layers, yet the mechanisms generating it remain poorly understood. Using a bio-realistic model of mouse primary visual cortex, we reproduced the SL motif and found it preserved across diverse visual stimuli. Systematic cell-type- and layer-resolved perturbations showed that the alpha/beta component was intrinsic to every layer, whereas the 50-80 Hz gamma component was predominantly generated within layer 4 (L4) and propagated network-wide through inter-laminar connections. Pvalb interneurons were the principal regulators of gamma, Sst cells shaped low-frequency power, and Vip cells controlled oscillation magnitude. The temporal properties of L4 Pvalb-to-excitatory synapses were especially influential in generating the SL motif. These models and simulation results thus offer a plausible description of circuit mechanisms underlying cortical oscillations and the SL motif and are publicly available to facilitate further studies.

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Herrera, B., Ito, S., Haufler, D., Dai, K., Abdaltawab, A., Li, Y., Sennesh, E. Z., Mendoza-Halliday, D., Bastos, A. M., Arkhipov, A.. 2026-11-06. Circuit and cell-type mechanisms of the spectrolaminar motif of cortical oscillations. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.11.04.763717

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