Multi-band oscillations emerge from a simple spiking network

Abstract: In the brain, coherent neuronal activities often appear simultaneously in multiple frequency bands, e.g., as combinations of alpha (8-12 Hz), beta (12.5-30 Hz), gamma (30-120 Hz) oscillations, among others. These rhythms are believed to underlie information processing and cognitive functions and have been subjected to intense experimental and theoretical scrutiny. Computational modeling has provided a framework for the emergence of network-level oscillatory behavior from the interaction of spiking neurons. However, due to the strong nonlinear interactions between highly recurrent spiking populations, the interplay between cortical rhythms in multiple frequency bands has rarely been theoretically investigated. Many studies invoke multiple physiological timescales or oscillatory inputs to produce rhythms in multi-bands. Here we demonstrate the emergence of multi-band oscillations in a simple network consisting of one excitatory and one inhibitory neuronal population driven by constant input. First, we construct a data-driven, Poincar\'e section theory for robust numerical observations of single-frequency oscillations bifurcating into multiple bands. Then we develop model reductions of the stochastic, nonlinear, high-dimensional neuronal network to capture the appearance of multi-band dynamics and the underlying bifurcations theoretically. Furthermore, when viewed within the reduced state space, our analysis reveals conserved geometrical features of the bifurcations on low-dimensional dynamical manifolds. These results suggest a simple geometric mechanism behind the emergence of multi-band oscillations without appealing to oscillatory inputs or multiple synaptic or neuronal timescales. Thus our work points to unexplored regimes of stochastic competition between excitation and inhibition behind the generation of dynamic, patterned neuronal activities.