[Bonn, July 7, 2023] Florian Mormann has published a groundbreaking study on the regulation of neuronal circuits during sleep in Nature Neuroscience. This study uncovers how the sleeping brain controls neuronal activity to support synaptic and systems consolidation.

Using intracranial Electroencephalography (iEEG) and multiunit activity (MUA) recordings, the team discovered that sleep spindles, governed by slow oscillation (SO) up-states, establish a timeframe for ripples to occur. This sequential coupling leads to increased neuronal firing rates, enhanced cross-correlations among local neuronal assemblies, and improved cross-regional interactions in the medial temporal lobe (MTL) areas.

By triggering specific sleep rhythms, such as slow oscillations and spindles, ripples optimize conditions for spike-timing dependent plasticity and systems consolidation. These findings provide valuable insights into how the coordinated coupling of sleep rhythms orchestrates neuronal processing and communication during human sleep.

Find the paper here.