Macroscale traveling waves link perception, response selection, and vocal production during marmoset vocal interactions

Vocal communication involves a series of cognitive processes, which can be broadly categorized into three components: perceiving communicative signals; deciding whether and how to respond; and generating vocal motor output. These processes must work harmoniously, with integration and bridging between components being crucial for effective communication. Previous research on vocal communication has typically focused on specific brain regions or isolated cognitive functions, often lacking a holistic perspective of macro-scale, whole-cortical dynamics and their role in the complete communication process. Therefore, although the cortical areas associated with each cognitive component have been localized in humans, the macro-scale cortical dynamics underlying the integration of these cognitive processes remain unknown. Building on recent findings linking macro-scale cortical dynamics to behavioral performance, we hypothesized that traveling wave like cross-areal interactions play a role in integrating the three communicative components. To test this hypothesis, we recorded whole-cortical activity using epidural electrocorticography (ECoG) while subject marmosets vocally interacted with partners. We found theta-band activation in several cortical areas, including the parietal and auditory cortices, while listening to partners calls. This activity was further modulated depending on whether the subjects engaged in vocal interactions, potentially representing the transformation of sensory processing into decision-making and vocal motor preparation. Given the widespread nature of this modulation, we next characterized whole-brain activity patterns by employing a novel analytical method, Weakly Orthogonal Conjugate Contrast Analysis (WOCCA). This analysis revealed that cortical activity could be decomposed into two distinct traveling wave like propagation patterns, a rotational and a translational wave, and both waves discriminated communicative conditions consistent with localized activity. The rotational wave further represented vocal motor preparation through trigger-like temporal pattern. In addition, the magnitude of the translational wave immediately before subjects vocal production correlated with the vocal production-induced suppression of high-gamma-band activity, particularly in the prefrontal and auditory cortices. As vocalization-induced suppression is believed to reflect sensory prediction, the translational wave may propagate specific decision-related or acoustic information necessary for subsequent vocal production to local cortical areas. These findings suggest that the brain orchestrates the sequential cognitive processes underlying vocal communication through macro-scale traveling waves.