Sleep spindles are major oscillatory components of Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) sleep, reflecting hyperpolarization-rebound sequences of thalamocortical neurons. Reports suggest a link between sleep spindles and several forms of high-frequency oscillations which are considered as expressions of pathological off-line neural plasticity in the central nervous system. Here we investigated the relationship between thalamic sleep spindles and ripples in the anterior and mediodorsal nuclei (ANT and MD) of epilepsy patients. Whole-night LFP from the ANT and MD were co-registered with scalp EEG/polysomnography by using externalized leads in 15 epilepsy patients undergoing a Deep Brain Stimulation protocol. Slow (~12 Hz) and fast (~14 Hz) sleep spindles were present in the human ANT and MD and roughly, 20% of them were associated with ripples. Ripple-associated thalamic sleep spindles were characterized by longer duration and exceeded pure spindles in terms of spindle power as indicated by time-frequency analysis. Furthermore, ripple amplitude was modulated by the phase of sleep spindles within both thalamic nuclei. No signs of pathological processes were correlated with measures of ripple and spindle association, furthermore, the density of ripple-associated sleep spindles in the ANT showed a positive correlation with verbal comprehension. Our findings indicate the involvement of the human thalamus in coalescent spindle-ripple oscillations of NREM sleep.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ejn.16240 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Comprehensive assessment reveals numerous clinical and neurophysiological differences between MECP2-allelic disorders.
Ann Clin Transl Neurol
January 2025
Section of Pediatric Neurology and Developmental Neuroscience, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, 77030, USA.
Objective: Rett syndrome (RTT) and MECP2 duplication syndrome (MDS) result from under- and overexpression of MECP2, respectively. Preclinical studies using genetic-based treatment showed robust phenotype recovery for both MDS and RTT. However, there is a risk of converting MDS to RTT, or vice versa, if accurate MeCP2 levels are not achieved.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDoes fragmented sleep mediate the relationship between deficits in sleep spindles and memory consolidation in schizophrenia?
Sleep Adv
December 2024
Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Study Objectives: Sleep spindles, defining electroencephalographic oscillations of nonrapid eye movement (NREM) stage 2 sleep (N2), mediate sleep-dependent memory consolidation (SDMC). Spindles are also thought to protect sleep continuity by suppressing thalamocortical sensory relay. Schizophrenia is characterized by spindle deficits and a correlated reduction of SDMC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAssociation of Sleep Spindle Rate With Memory Consolidation in Children With Rolandic Epilepsy.
Neurology
January 2025
Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston.
Background And Objectives: Rolandic epilepsy (RE), the most common childhood focal epilepsy syndrome, is characterized by a transient period of sleep-activated epileptiform activity in the centrotemporal regions and variable cognitive deficits. Sleep spindles are prominent thalamocortical brain oscillations during sleep that have been mechanistically linked to sleep-dependent memory consolidation in animal models and healthy controls. Sleep spindles are decreased in RE and related sleep-activated epileptic encephalopathies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIndividualized temporal patterns drive human sleep spindle timing.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
January 2025
Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115.
Sleep spindles are cortical electrical oscillations considered critical for memory consolidation and sleep stability. The timing and pattern of sleep spindles are likely to be important in driving synaptic plasticity during sleep as well as preventing disruption of sleep by sensory and internal stimuli. However, the relative importance of factors such as sleep depth, cortical up/down-state, and temporal clustering in governing sleep spindle dynamics remains poorly understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIdentifying the Brain Circuits that Regulate Pain-Induced Sleep Disturbances.
bioRxiv
December 2024
Department of Neurology, Division of Sleep Medicine, and Program in Neuroscience, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, USA.
Pain therapies that alleviate both pain and sleep disturbances may be the most effective for pain relief, as both chronic pain and sleep loss render the opioidergic system, targeted by opioids, less sensitive and effective for analgesia. Therefore, we first studied the link between sleep disturbances and the activation of nociceptors in two acute pain models. Activation of nociceptors in both acute inflammatory (AIP) and opto-pain models led to sleep loss, decreased sleep spindle density, and increased sleep fragmentation that lasted 3 to 6 hours.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!