EVIDENCE FOR REACTIVE MAGNETIC 10-HZ RHYTHM IN THE HUMAN AUDITORY-CORTEX

We tested the hypothesis that neurons in the human auditory cortex sho w spontaneous oscillations around 10 Hz, and that this activity ('tau' rhythm) is affected by auditory input. Cortical activity was recorded with a 122-channel whole-scalp neuromagnetometer from healthy adults while they were presented with monaural 500-ms bursts of white noise. The reactivity of spontaneous oscillations was studied over the whole cortex using the Temporal Spectral Evolution method. Oscillatory 6.5-9 .5 Hz activity, with sources in the superior temporal lobes, was trans iently suppressed by the sounds in eight out of nine subjects. Our res ults support the existence of a distinct, reactive auditory rhythm in the human temporal cortex. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.