2017/06/12 by Christian Meisel, Meisel, Christian, Andreas Klaus +5
Neuroscience · #Adaptation and Self-Organizing Systems (nlin.AO) #EEG and Brain-Computer Interfaces #FOS: Biological sciences #FOS: Physical sciences #Neural dynamics and brain function #Neurons and Cognition (q-bio.NC) #Sleep and Wakefulness Research
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1706.03836
openalex publication_date 2017/06/12 · openalex created_date 2022/10/04 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Increasing evidence suggests that cortical dynamics during wake exhibits\nlong-range temporal correlations suitable to integrate inputs over extended\nperiods of time to increase the signal-to-noise ratio in decision-making and\nworking memory tasks. Accordingly, sleep has been suggested as a state\ncharacterized by a breakdown of long-range correlations; detailed measurements\nof neuronal timescales that support this view, however, have so far been\nlacking. Here we show that the long timescales measured at the individual\nneuron level in freely-behaving rats during the awake state are abrogated\nduring non-REM (NREM) sleep. We provide evidence for the existence of two\ndistinct states in terms of timescale dynamics in cortex: one which is\ncharacterized by long timescales which dominate during wake and REM sleep, and\na second one characterized by the absence of long-range temporal correlations\nwhich characterizes NREM sleep. We observe that both timescale regimes can\nco-exist and, in combination, lead to an apparent gradual decline of long\ntimescales during extended wake which is restored after sleep. Our results\nprovide a missing link between the observed long timescales in individual\nneuron fluctuations during wake and the reported absence of long-term\ncorrelations during deep sleep in EEG and fMRI studies. They furthermore\nsuggest a network-level function of sleep, to reorganize cortical networks\ntowards states governed by slow cortex dynamics to ensure optimal function for\nthe time awake.\n