SYNCHRONIZED SLEEP OSCILLATIONS AND THEIR PAROXYSMAL DEVELOPMENTS

The state of resting sleep is associated with a series of oscillations generated in cortical and thalamic networks. A newly discovered rhyth m groups the spindle and delta sleep oscillations within slowly recurr ing (<1Hz) sequences. Multi-site, extra- and intracellular recordings provide evidence for synchronization of various classes of cell in the neocortex and thalamus during sleep oscillations that might reach par axysmal levels similar to epileptic states. Sleep oscillations and the underlying synchronizing processes are disrupted during transition to brain arousal.