Brain’s neuron works even when you are asleep
Washington [US], July 13: A new study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience has found that your brain is tasked with hearing sound functions even when you are sound asleep.
A unique study of brain activity in the cerebral cortex of epilepsy patients found there was a robust response to sound during sleep that largely mirrored the brain's response during wakefulness.
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However, there was one key difference from wakefulness, namely in the level of alpha-beta waves. The attenuation of these waves characterizes the awake state and indicate neural feedback from higher brain centers helping to understand sound and anticipate what may come next. This was the key factor lacking in sleep.
A study co-author and director "The neuronal orchestra is never shut from the environment when the person is deep asleep," said Dr. Itzhak Fried, a study co-author and director of UCLA's Epilepsy Surgery Program. "The neurons are like musicians playing Mozart, each one with great fidelity and volume. Only the conductor, the one who monitors performance and leads expectations, is missing."
Researchers had an unusually up-close view into the activity of single brain cells in patients with severe epilepsy through electrodes that were implanted in their brains to identify where seizures were occurring for potential curative surgery. Patients at UCLA and Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center who agreed to participate in the study were set up with bedside speakers that played words and music when the patients were awake and listening, as well as sound asleep.
Over 7 years, the team collected data from over 700 neurons during wakefulness and different stages of sleeping, allowing them to compare neuronal activity and brain waves.
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Brain cells in the primary auditory cortex responded most vigorously during sleep, but there was a decline in the "top-down" neural feedback from higher brain regions that mediate attention and expectation.
-PTC News
