Dark Brain Energy: Toward an Integrative Model of Spontaneous Slow Oscillations

TL;DR

This paper reviews the role of spontaneous slow oscillations in brain function, highlighting recent multi-band frequency analysis advancements and proposing a hierarchical model to understand their organization and significance.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive survey of SSO studies over 15 years and introduces a new integrative model to explain their hierarchical organization and functions.

Findings

SSOs exhibit frequency-dependent characteristics in brain activity.

Multi-band frequency analysis reveals complex properties of SSOs.

The proposed model links SSO hierarchy to brain function and structure.

Abstract

Neural oscillations facilitate the functioning of the human brain in spatial and temporal dimensions at various frequencies. These oscillations feature a universal frequency architecture that is governed by brain anatomy, ensuring frequency specificity remains invariant across different measurement techniques. Initial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methodology constrained functional MRI (fMRI) investigations to a singular frequency range, thereby neglecting the frequency characteristics inherent in blood oxygen level-dependent oscillations. With advancements in MRI technology, it has become feasible to decode intricate brain activities via multi-band frequency analysis (MBFA). During the past decade, the utilization of MBFA in fMRI studies has surged, unveiling frequency-dependent characteristics of spontaneous slow oscillations (SSOs) believed to base dark energy in the brain. There remains a dearth of conclusive insights and hypotheses pertaining to the properties and functionalities of SSOs in distinct bands. We surveyed the SSO MBFA studies during the past 15 years to delineate the attributes of SSOs and enlighten their correlated functions. We further proposed a model to elucidate the hierarchical organization of multi-band SSOs by integrating their function, aimed at bridging theoretical gaps and guiding future MBFA research endeavors.