Abstract Spatiotemporal patterns of activity in the neocortex are linked to cognitive processes underlying behavior. However, identifying discrete underlying events within highly dynamic cortical network fluctuations remains a critical challenge. Here, we demonstrate a novel analytical method to track network events underlying state-dependent β- (15-30Hz) and γ- (30-80Hz) range activity in mouse primary visual cortex (V1). We find that γ events are selectively associated with enhanced visual encoding by V1 neurons and γ event rate increases prior to visually-cued behavior, accurately predicting single trial visual detection. This relationship between γ events and behavior is sensory modality-specific and rapidly modulated by changes in task objectives. These findings illuminate a distinct role for transient patterns of cortical activity, indicating that γ supports flexible encoding according to behavioral context.

Flexible perceptual encoding by discrete gamma events