ABSTRACT
Introduction..............................................................................................................25 Discharge Properties of Identified Cholinergic and GABAergic
Basal Forebrain Neurons in Anesthetized Rats ....................................................28 Discharge Properties of Basal Forebrain Neurons in Head-Fixed Rats.................30 Role of Cholinergic and GABAergic Basal Forebrain Neurons ............................34 Summary ..................................................................................................................37 Acknowledgments....................................................................................................38 References................................................................................................................38
Cortical activity varies in association with behavior and sleep-wake states. It is predominantly fast during waking and paradoxical sleep (PS or rapid eye movement sleep, REMS) and slow during quiet or slow wave sleep (SWS; see Figure 2.1). The fast activity reflects cortical activation that is stimulated and maintained by subcortical activating systems. These systems originate in the rostral brainstem where glutamatergic neurons of the reticular formation, cholinergic pontomesencephalic tegmental neurons, and noradrenergic locus coeruleus neurons collectively comprise critical activating systems.
