Wave propagation of cortical population activity under urethane anesthesia is state dependent

• Published in: BMC neuroscience Vol. 14; no. 1; p. 78
• Main Authors: Wanger, Tim, Takagaki, Kentaroh, Lippert, Michael T, Goldschmidt, Jürgen, Ohl, Frank W
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 31.07.2013; BioMed Central
• Subjects: Acquisitions & mergers; Anesthesia; Anesthetics - pharmacology; Animals; Anisotropy; Aqueous solutions; Brain Waves - drug effects; Brain Waves - physiology; Cortical Synchronization - drug effects; Cortical Synchronization - physiology; Electroencephalography; Experiments; Health aspects; Information management; Male; Neocortex; Nerve Net - drug effects; Nerve Net - physiology; Neurosciences; Physiological aspects; Population; Propagation; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Rodents; Studies; Urethane - pharmacology; Urethanes; Visual Cortex - drug effects; Visual Cortex - physiology; Voltage-Sensitive Dye Imaging; Germany
• ISSN: 1471-2202; 1471-2202
• DOI: 10.1186/1471-2202-14-78

Propagating waves of excitation have been observed extensively in the neocortex, during both spontaneous and sensory-evoked activity, and they play a critical role in spatially organizing information processing. However, the state-dependence of these spatiotemporal propagation patterns is largely unexplored. In this report, we use voltage-sensitive dye imaging in the rat visual cortex to study the propagation of spontaneous population activity in two discrete cortical states induced by urethane anesthesia. While laminar current source density patterns of spontaneous population events in these two states indicate a considerable degree of similarity in laminar networks, lateral propagation in the more active desynchronized state is approximately 20% faster than in the slower synchronized state. Furthermore, trajectories of wave propagation exhibit a strong anisotropy, but the preferred direction is different depending on cortical state. Our results show that horizontal wave propagation of spontaneous neural activity is largely dependent on the global activity states of local cortical circuits.