EEG oscillations at 600 Hz are macroscopic markers for cortical spike bursts

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Abstract
The human electroencephalogram (EEG) is generated predominantly by synchronised cortical excitatory postsynaptic potentials oscillating at frequencies <100 Hz. Unusually, EEG responses to electrical nerve stimulation contain brief bursts of high‐frequency (600 Hz) wavelets. Here we show, in awake monkeys, that a subset of primary somatosensory cortex single units consistently fires both bursts and single spikes phase‐locked to EEG wavelets. Spike bursts were also evoked by tactile stimuli, proving that this is a natural response mode. EEG wavelets at 600 Hz may therefore permit non‐invasive assessment of population spike timing in human cortex.