ABSTRACT
This chapter explains about the cellular substrates of brain oscillations that characterize wake and sleep states. It presents the neuronal substrates of low-frequency oscillations in thalamocortical systems which characterize slow-wave sleep and distinguish this deafferented state from both brain-activated states of waking and rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep. The conversion of slow sleep oscillations into paroxysmal discharges will be analyzed in relation to the preferential occurrence of some seizures during resting sleep. The chapter explores the cellular processes that account for the shift from low-frequency to fast rhythms that appear during activated states. Low-frequency oscillations of electrical activity, which characterize the behavioral state of resting sleep, are blocked upon brain activation, during both waking and REM sleep. During the state of resting sleep, the rhythmic spike bursts may reorganize and/or specify the circuitry and also may consolidate memory traces acquired during wakefulness.
