Resonant hierarchies: a multiscale framework for oscillatory dynamics in the brain

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new framework explaining how brain oscillations arise from interactions across multiple scales, from individual neurons to large-scale networks.

Contribution

The resonant hierarchy framework explicitly links dendritic resonance, laminar structure, and conduction delays into a unified cross-scale model of brain oscillations.

Findings

Dendritic branches act as frequency-selective filters influencing cellular oscillations.

Conduction delays and anatomical layout shape macroscale communication frequencies.

Canonical brain rhythms emerge from coordination regimes rather than being fixed modules.

Abstract

Oscillatory activity is a hallmark of neural function across spatial and temporal scales, but its origins and computational roles remain only partially understood. Since our earlier caution against treating alpha-band activity as a unitary phenomenon, converging work has highlighted the need to interpret brain rhythms within their anatomical and functional context. Here we provide both a comprehensive review of this progress and a perspective-style framework, the resonant hierarchy, which situates oscillations within a nested scaffold spanning from dendritic microstructure to macroscale inter-areal coordination. At the cellular level, dendritic branches act as spatially organized filters with frequency-selective resonance properties. At larger scales, conduction delays and anatomical layout constrain dominant communication frequencies, aligning structural hierarchy with temporal coordination regimes. We argue that canonical rhythms (alpha, beta, gamma, etc.) should be understood not as fixed cognitive modules, but as emergent descriptors of these coordination regimes. In contrast to previous multiscale accounts that focus primarily on laminar microcircuits or network-level eigenmodes, we explicitly link dendritic resonance, laminar organization, and long-range conduction delays into a single cross-scale framework and articulate how they jointly shape latent population dynamics. This perspective unifies diverse findings and generates testable predictions: manipulations of dendritic resonance should systematically shift network oscillations; disruptions of conduction pathways should alter inter-areal alignment; and targeted neuromodulation may work best by nudging latent dynamics along resonant dimensions. In integrating review with framework, we aim to reposition oscillations as fundamental scaffolds of computation, offering a principled basis for future modeling, measurement, and intervention.

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