Changes in cross-frequency coupling following closed-loop auditory stimulation in non-rapid eye movement sleep

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 10; no. 1; p. 10628
• Main Authors: Krugliakova, Elena, Volk, Carina, Jaramillo, Valeria, Sousouri, Georgia, Huber, Reto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 30.06.2020; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/378/1385/1814; 631/378/1385/2641; Acoustic Stimulation; Auditory Perception; Auditory plasticity; Delta Rhythm; Eye movements; Female; Hearing; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Male; multidisciplinary; NREM sleep; Oscillations; Parietal Lobe - physiology; REM sleep; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Sleep; Sleep and wakefulness; Sleep, Slow-Wave - physiology; Theta Rhythm; Young Adult
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-67392-w

Regional changes of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep delta and sigma activity, and their temporal coupling have been related to experience-dependent plastic changes during previous wakefulness. These sleep-specific rhythms seem to be important for brain recovery and memory consolidation. Recently, it was demonstrated that by targeting slow waves in a particular region at a specific phase with closed-loop auditory stimulation, it is possible to locally manipulate slow-wave activity and interact with training-induced neuroplastic changes. In our study, we tested whether closed-loop auditory stimulation targeting the up-phase of slow waves might not only interact with the main sleep rhythms but also with their coupling within the circumscribed region. We demonstrate that while closed-loop auditory stimulation globally enhances delta, theta and sigma power, changes in cross-frequency coupling of these oscillations were more spatially restricted. Importantly, a significant increase in delta-sigma coupling was observed over the right parietal area, located directly posterior to the target electrode. These findings suggest that closed-loop auditory stimulation locally modulates coupling between delta phase and sigma power in a targeted region, which could be used to manipulate sleep-dependent neuroplasticity within the brain network of interest.