Are high-frequency (600 Hz) oscillations in human somatosensory evoked potentials due to phase-resetting phenomena?

Highlights ► Scalp recordings at an unprecedented low noise level show that high-frequency somatosensory evoked potentials (hfSEP) are generated by added-activity and not by a phase-reset of ongoing hf-activity as previously suggested. ► These seemingly contradictory results were reconciled by a statistical power analysis identifying the band-limited signal-to-noise ratio as decisive factor for the detectability of single-trial hfSEP added-activity. ► Thus, human scalp hfSEP can be understood as a non-invasively recorded correlate of evoked cortical multi-unit spike responses as inferred from previous invasive recordings.