Ž . International Journal of Psychophysiology 26 1997 205227 Low-frequency oscillations of visual, auditory and somatosensory cortical neurons evoked by sensory stimulation H.R. Dinse a,  , K. Kruger a , A.C. Akhavan a , F. Spengler a , G. Schoner c , ¨ ¨ C.E. Schreiner b a Inst. fur Neuroinformatik, TheoretischeBiologie, Ruhr-Uni ®ersitat Bochum ND 04, Box 102 148, ¨ ¨ D-44780 Bochum, Germany b Uni ®ersity of California, Keck Center for Integrati ®e Neuroscience, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA c CNRS-L NC, 31, Chemin Joseph Aiguier, F-13402 Marseille Cedex 20, France Abstract Low-frequency oscillations  LFOs  below 20 Hz in the activity of cortical neurons are a commonly observed property across all sensory modalities. However, the functional significance and potential role of these intrinsic oscillations are not well understood. Here, we attempt to provide a general framework for the interpretation of this phenomenon by considering its properties across several sensory modalities. In the first part, we provide a survey and Ž . w a general description of low-frequency oscillations LFOs at a cellular level observed following adequate Basar, and x Schurmann, 1994 . Sensory stimulation of neurons recorded in three sensory modalities of neocortices in higher ¨ Ž . mammals. The second part will address some functional aspects of low-frequency oscillations LFOs such as stimulus selectivity and so-called ‘interference’ phenomena, specifically with findings related to ‘resetting’ and ‘gating’ of sensory processing streams. Finally, a hypotheses is outlined in which the low-frequency oscillations are regarded as an organizational principle by which continuity of sensory and motor states over time could be accomplished.  1997 Elsevier Science B.V. Ž . Keywords: Sensory stimulation; Low-frequency oscillations LFOs ; Stimulus selectivity 1. Introduction Brain activity comprises a broad spectrum of periodic phenomena ranging from high-frequency Ž oscillations 30  90 Hz, the so-called gamma . range to very low frequencies in the range of Ž seconds or minutes besides ultradian and circa- . dian rhythms .  Corresponding author. Stimulus-evoked oscillatory responses in the 10-Hz range have been studied for several decades Ž at cortical and subcortical levels Bishop and O’Leary, 1936; Chang, 1950; Andersen and An- dersson, 1968; Steriade et al., 1990; Lopes da . Silva, 1991 . The functional role of these rhythms, however, still remains to be discovered. Hypothe- ses regarding their role include gating of sensory inputs, as well as cognitive processes related to memory, movement and sensation. However, the ideas to relate these rhythms to noise and as a 0167-8760r97r$17.00  1997 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Ž . PII S0167-8760 97 00765-4