The Theta-Gamma Neural Code

By John E. Lisman, Ole Jensen. Neuron, 2013

1,420 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Theta and gamma frequency oscillations occur in the same brain regions and interact with each other, a process called cross-frequency coupling. Here, we review evidence for the following hypothesis: that the dual oscillations form a code for representing multiple items in an ordered way. This form of coding has been most clearly demonstrated in the hippocampus, where different spatial information is represented in different gamma subcycles of a theta cycle. Other experiments have tested the functional importance of oscillations and their coupling. These involve correlation of oscillatory properties with memory states, correlation with memory performance, and effects of disrupting oscillations on memory. Recent work suggests that this coding scheme coordinates communication between brain regions and is involved in sensory as well as memory processes.

Subfields: Artificial Intelligence, Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, Cognitive Neuroscience

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/c19bee993c59e2e0a6c84642dc0ab6c272ef616f

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Citations in the corpus

Independent control of gamma and theta activity by distinct interneuron networks in the olfactory bulb (2014, positive): “In addition, APs within each theta cycle can be organized even more precisely through gamma rhythms nested within the theta rhythm 9 .”
Dynamic functional connectivity: Promise, issues, and interpretations (2013, background): “We can speculate that cross-frequency coupling (for reviews see Buzsaki and Watson, 2012; Jensen and Colgin, 2007; Lisman and Jensen, 2013; Siegel et al., 2012) may play a role in dynamic FC.”
Causal Evidence for the Role of Neuronal Oscillations in Top-Down and Bottom-Up Attention (2019, unknown): “Gamma frequency neuronal oscillations have been implicated in a generalized theta-gamma neural coding scheme for perception (Lisman & Jensen, 2013).”
Theta oscillations between the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and amygdala support dynamic representations of threat and safety (2025, unknown): “Theta oscillations could support memory formation and retrieval by mediating information transfer in distant brain regions (Buzs ´ aki, 2010; Hyafil et al., 2015; Lisman & Jensen, 2013).”
Complex memories induced by intracranial electrical brain stimulation are related to complex networks. (2024, unknown): “Theta-gamma coupling controls the transfer of information throughout the entorhinal-hippocampal network and temporally organizes sequences of events within each theta cycle (Colgin, 2015; Lisman & Idiart, 1995; Lisman & Jensen, 2013).”
Altered network connectivity and global efficiency in tourette syndrome: insights into sensorimotor integration (2025, unknown): “Especially long-range theta connectivity is suggested to be a crucial factor for effective cognitive processing and coordination of task-dependent activity (Lisman & Jensen, 2013; Mizuhara et al., 2004; Von Stein & Sarnthein, 2000).”
Neuronal oscillations in cognition: Down syndrome as a model of mouse to human translation (2024, unknown): “Specifically, it has been suggested that cell assemblies encoding for discrete memoranda are active in separate cycles of the higher-frequency oscillation, while sequences of activity across cycles are coordinated by the phase of the lower-frequency oscillation (Lisman and Jensen 2013).”
Neurophysiological mechanisms of cognition in the developing brain: Insights from intracranial EEG studies (2023, background): “In line with the suggested functional role of theta oscillations in organizing items in memory (Buzs ´ aki, 2005; Lisman and Jensen, 2013), Q. Yin et al. alpha-gamma PAC is also viewed as a mechanism for representing and organizing complex visual information within occipital cortex (Bonne-fond et…”
Rhythms of human attention and memory: An embedded process perspective (2022, methodology): “(B) The theta rhythm (3–8 Hz) is presumed to organize neural processes, as reﬂected in a theta-gamma neural code, a coding schema proposed to serve the segregation and ordering of neural representations (cf., Lisman and Jensen, 2013).”
Rhythmicity Revisited: Evidence from Robust Behavioral Oscillations (2025, unknown): “In such accounts, oscillatory dynamics organize information processing into recurring temporal windows, with distinct phases within a single cycle assigned to different representations 21,45,46 .”
Theta power reduction and theta–gamma coupling desynchronization are associated with working memory interference and anxiety symptoms in panic disorder: a retrospective study (2024, unknown): “Phase-amplitude coupling (PAC), a type of CFC, reflects the interactions between cognitive functions and inter-areal communication by showing how the phases of slower oscillations modulate the amplitude of faster oscillations [41, 44, 45].”