Information Processing and Synchronization in the Thalamo-Reticular System by Beta Phase Coding in a Model of Neural Oscillators

Information in the brain is suggested to be coded by either the firing rate or the relative timing of neuronal activity. Temporal coding is particularly relevant to brain structures with strong oscillatory behavior, such as the thalamo-cortical system or the hippocampus. The thalamus has a key position in information processing in the brain: First, it is the major gateway for sensory information to the cortex. Second, thalamo-cortical pathways are reciprocated by massive feedback connections from the cortex back to the thalamus. Thalamic relay neurons are coupled to cortical neurons, as well as to the inhibitory…