Theta waves generate the theta rhythm, a neural oscillation in the brain that underlies various aspects of cognition and behavior, including learning, memory, and spatial navigation in humans and many other mammals. It can be recorded using various electrophysiological methods, such as electroencephalogram (EEG), recorded either from inside the brain or from electrodes attached to the scalp.
At least two types of theta rhythm have been described. The hippocampal theta rhythm is a strong oscillation that can be observed in the hippocampus and other brain structures in humans and many other mammals. "Cortical theta rhythms" are low-frequency components of scalp EEG, usually recorded from humans. Theta rhythms can be quantified using quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG) using freely available toolboxes, such as, EEGLAB or the Neurophysiological Biomarker Toolbox (NBT).
In rats, theta wave rhythmicity is easily observed in the hippocampus, but can also be detected in numerous other cortical and subcortical brain structures. Hippocampal theta waves, with a frequency range of 6–10 Hz, appear when a rat is engaged in active motor behavior such as walking or exploratory sniffing, and also during REM sleep. Theta waves with a lower frequency range, usually around 6–7 Hz, are sometimes observed when a rat is motionless but alert. When a rat is eating, grooming, or sleeping, the hippocampal EEG usually shows a non-rhythmic pattern known as large irregular activity or LIA. The hippocampal theta rhythm depends critically on projections from the medial septal area, which in turn receives input from the hypothalamus and several brainstem areas. Hippocampal theta rhythms in other species differ in some respects from those in rats. In cats and rabbits, the frequency range is lower (around 4–6 Hz), and theta is less strongly associated with movement than in rats. In bats, theta appears in short bursts associated with echolocation.
In humans, hippocampal theta rhythm has been observed and linked to memory formation and navigation. As with rats, humans exhibit hippocampal theta wave activity during REM sleep. Humans also exhibit predominantly cortical theta wave activity during REM sleep. Increased sleepiness is associated with decreased alpha wave power and increased theta wave power. Meditation has been shown to increase theta power.
The function of the hippocampal theta rhythm is not clearly understood. Green and Arduini, in the first major study of this phenomenon, noted that hippocampal theta usually occurs together with desynchronized EEG in the neocortex, and proposed that it is related to arousal. Vanderwolf and his colleagues, noting the strong relationship between theta and motor behavior, have argued that it is related to sensorimotor processing. Another school, led by John O'Keefe, have suggested that theta is part of the mechanism animals use to keep track of their location within the environment. Another theory links the theta rhythm to mechanisms of learning and memory (Hasselmo, 2005). This theory states that theta waves may act as a switch between encoding and recall mechanisms, and experimental data on rodents and humans support this idea. Another study on humans has shown that theta oscillations determine memory function (encoding or recall) when interacting with high frequency gamma activity in the hippocampus. These findings support the idea that theta oscillations support memory formation and retrieval in interaction with other oscillatory rhythms. These different theories have since been combined, as it has been shown that the firing patterns can support both navigation and memory.
In human EEG studies, the term theta refers to frequency components in the 4–7 Hz range, regardless of their source. Cortical theta is observed frequently in young children. In older children and adults, it tends to appear during meditative, drowsy, hypnotic or sleeping states, but not during the deepest stages of sleep. Theta from the midfrontal cortex is specifically related to cognitive control and alterations in these theta signals are found in multiple psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders.
History Although there were a few earlier hints, the first clear description of regular slow oscillations in the hippocampal EEG came from a paper written in German by Jung and Kornmüller (1938). They were not able to follow up on these initial observations, and it was not until 1954 that further information became available, in a very thorough study by John D. Green and Arnaldo Arduini that mapped out the basic properties of hippocampal oscillations in cats, rabbits, and monkeys (Green and Arduini, 1954). Their findings provoked widespread interest, in part because they related hippocampal activity to arousal, which was at that time the hottest topic in neuroscience. Green and Arduini described an inverse relationship between hippocampal and cortical activity patterns, with hippocampal rhythmicity occurring alongside desynchronized activity in the cortex, whereas an irregular hippocampal activity pattern was correlated with the appearance of large slow waves in the cortical EEG.
Over the following decade came an outpouring of experiments examining the pharmacology and physiology of theta. By 1965, Charles Stumpf was able to write a lengthy review of "Drug action on the electrical activity of the hippocampus" citing hundreds of publications (Stumpf, 1965), and in 1964 John Green, who served as the leader of the field during this period, was able to write an extensive and detailed review of hippocampal electrophysiology (Green, 1964). A major contribution came from a group of investigators working in Vienna, including Stumpf and Wolfgang Petsche, who established the critical role of the medial septum in controlling hippocampal electrical activity, and worked out some of the pathways by which it exerts its influence.
Terminology
Because of a historical accident, the term "theta rhythm" is used to refer to two different phenomena, "hippocampal theta" and "human cortical theta". Both of these are oscillatory EEG patterns, but they may have little in common beyond the name "theta".
In the oldest EEG literature dating back to the 1920s, Greek letters such as alpha, beta, theta, and gamma were used to classify EEG waves falling into specific frequency ranges, with "theta" generally meaning a range of about 4–7 cycles per second (Hz). In the 1930s–1950s, a very strong rhythmic oscillation pattern was discovered in the hippocampus of cats and rabbits (Green & Arduini, 1954). In these species, the hippocampal oscillations fell mostly into the 4–6 Hz frequency range, so they were referred to as "theta" oscillations. Later, hippocampal oscillations of the same type were observed in rats; however, the frequency of rat hippocampal EEG oscillations averaged about 8 Hz and rarely fell below 6 Hz. Thus the rat hippocampal EEG oscillation should not, strictly speaking, have been called a "theta rhythm". However the term "theta" had already become so strongly associated with hippocampal oscillations that it continued to be used even for rats. Over the years this association has come to be stronger than the original association with a specific frequency range, but the original meaning also persists.
Thus, "theta" can mean either of two things: A specific type of regular oscillation seen in the hippocampus and several other brain regions connected to it. EEG oscillations in the 4–7 Hz frequency range, regardless of where in the brain they occur or what their functional significance is.
The first meaning is usually intended in literature that deals with rats or mice, while the second meaning is usually intended in studies of human EEG recorded using electrodes glued to the scalp. In general, it is not safe to assume that observations of "theta" in the human EEG have any relationship to the "hippocampal theta rhythm". Scalp EEG is generated almost entirely by the cerebral cortex, and even if it falls into a certain frequency range, this cannot be taken to indicate that it has any functional dependence on the hippocampus.
Hippocampal
Due to the density of its neural layers, the hippocampus generates some of the largest EEG signals of any brain structure. In some situations the EEG is dominated by regular waves at 4–10 Hz, often continuing for many seconds. This EEG pattern is known as the hippocampal theta rhythm. It has also been called Rhythmic Slow Activity (RSA), to contrast it with the large irregular activity (LIA) that usually dominates the hippocampal EEG when theta is not present.
In rats, hippocampal theta is seen mainly in two conditions: first, when an animal is running, walking, or in some other way actively interacting with its surroundings; second, during REM sleep. The frequency of the theta waves increases as a function of running speed, starting at about 6.5 Hz on the low end, and increasing to about 9 Hz at the fastest running speeds, although higher frequencies are sometimes seen for brief high-velocity movements such as jumps across wide gaps. In larger species of animals, theta frequencies are generally lower. The behavioral dependency also seems to vary by species: in cats and rabbits, theta is often observed during states of motionless alertness. This has been reported for rats as well, but only when they are fearful (Sainsbury et al., 1987).
Theta is not just confined to the hippocampus. In rats, it can be observed in many parts of the brain, including nearly all that interact strongly with the hippocampus. The generation of the rhythm is dependent on the medial septal area: this area projects to all of the regions that show theta rhythmicity, and destruction of it eliminates theta throughout the brain (Stewart & Fox, 1990).
Type 1 and type 2
In 1975 Kramis, Bland, and Vanderwolf proposed that in rats there are two distinct types of hippocampal theta rhythm, with different behavioral and pharmacological properties (Kramis et al., 1975). Type 1 ("atropine resistant") theta, according to them, appears during locomotion and other types of "voluntary" behavior and during REM sleep, has a frequency usually around 8 Hz, and is unaffected by the anticholinergic drug atropine. Type 2 ("atropine sensitive") theta appears during immobility and during anesthesia induced by urethane, has a frequency in the 4–7 Hz range, and is eliminated by administration of atropine. Many later investigations have supported the general concept that hippocampal theta can be divided into two types, although there has been dispute about the precise properties of each type. Type 2 theta is comparatively rare in unanesthetized rats: it may be seen briefly when an animal is preparing to make a movement but hasn't yet executed it, but has only been reported for extended periods in animals that are in a state of frozen immobility because of the nearby presence of a predator such as a cat or ferret (Sainsbury et al., 1987).
Relationship with behavior
Vanderwolf (1969) made a strong argument that the presence of theta in the hippocampal EEG can be predicted on the basis of what an animal is doing, rather than why the animal is doing it. Active movements such as running, jumping, bar-pressing, or exploratory sniffing are reliably associated with theta; inactive states such as eating or grooming are associated with LIA. Later studies showed that theta frequently begins several hundred milliseconds before the onset of movement, and that it is associated with the intention to move rather than with feedback produced by movement (Whishaw & Vanderwolf, 1973). The faster an animal runs, the higher the theta frequency. In rats, the slowest movements give rise to frequencies around 6.5 Hz, the fastest to frequencies around 9 Hz, although faster oscillations can be observed briefly during very vigorous movements such as large jumps.
Mechanisms