Abstract
Cross-frequency coupling (CFC) between neural oscillations has received increased attention over the last decade, as it is believed to underlie a number of cognitive operations in different brain systems. Coupling can take different forms as it associates the phase, frequency, and/or amplitude of coupled oscillations. These specific forms of coupling are a signature for the underlying network physiology and probably relate to distinct cognitive functions. Here I discuss three caveats in data analysis that can lead to mistake one specific form of CFC for another: (1) bicoherence assesses the level of phase-amplitude and not of phase-phase coupling (PPC) as commonly accepted; (2) a test for phase-amplitude coupling (PAC) can indeed signal phase-frequency coupling (PFC) when the higher frequency signal is extracted using a too narrow band; (3) an oscillation whose frequency fluctuates may induce spurious amplitude anticorrelations between neighboring frequency bands. I indicate practical rules to avoid such misidentifications and correctly identify the specific nature of cross-frequency coupled signals.
Highlights
Cross-frequency coupling (CFC) between neural oscillations has received increased attention over the last decade, as it is believed to underlie a number of cognitive operations in different brain systems
I discuss three caveats in data analysis that can lead to mistake one specific form of CFC for another: (1) bicoherence assesses the level of phase-amplitude and not of phase-phase coupling (PPC) as commonly accepted; (2) a test for phase-amplitude coupling (PAC) can signal phase-frequency coupling (PFC) when the higher frequency signal is extracted using a too narrow band; (3) an oscillation whose frequency fluctuates may induce spurious amplitude anticorrelations between neighboring frequency bands
In particular I describe how measures tailored to detect PAC or amplitude-amplitude coupling (AAC) may in certain circumstances signal other dynamical features of the neural signal associated with frequency modulation
Summary
Cross-frequency coupling (CFC) between neural oscillations has received increased attention over the last decade, as it is believed to underlie a number of cognitive operations in different brain systems. Coupling can take different forms as it associates the phase, frequency, and/or amplitude of coupled oscillations These specific forms of coupling are a signature for the underlying network physiology and probably relate to distinct cognitive functions. Most commonly studied forms of CFC are phase-amplitude coupling (PAC), phase-phase coupling (PPC), phase-frequency coupling (PFC), and amplitude-amplitude coupling (AAC) (Jensen and Colgin, 2007; Jirsa and Müller, 2013; Hyafil et al, in press).
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