Global brain activity Flashcards
What is meant by rhythmic environment?
Temperature, day and night, tides
What do brain rhythms control?
sleeping and waking, breathing cycles, steps of walking, stages of night sleep
What is an electroencephalogram used for?
Physiology of sleepy
Epilepsy
Correlates with pathology and behavioural states
How is an EEG produced?
Generation of small fields in pyramidal cells
What are 2 basic requirements for signal detection?
A whole population of neurons must be active in synchrony to generate a large enough electrical field at the level of the scalp
This population of neurons must be aligned in a parallel orientation so they summate rather than cancel out
What does the amplitude of the EEG depend on?
How synchronous the activity of the underlying neuron is
Number of active cells
Total amount of excitation
Timing of activity
What is the alpha rhythm?
Person is awake with eyes closed
What is the beta rhythm?
Person is awake with eyes open - indicates mental activity and attention
What are theta waves?
Indicates drowsiness and sleeping or pathological condition
Which rhythm is present in REM sleep?
Beta rhythm
Which waves are found in stage 3 non REM sleep?
Delta waves
How is the synchronous rhythm generated?
Analogous to pacemaker
Improvisation and timing arises from the collective behaviour of the neurons together
The rhythmic activity of each thalamic pacemaker neuron then becomes synchronised with many other thalamic cells via a hand-clapping kind of collective interaction.
What modulates the synchronous rhythm?
Brainstem nuclei modulate interactions between the thalamus and the cortex
What do thalamic cells have to aid the rhythmic activity?
Thalamic cells have a set of voltage-gated ion channels that allow each cell to generate rhythmic, self-sustaining discharge patterns, even in the absence of external inputs.
What are the functions of brain rhythms?
Functions are unknown however
Sensory input – thalamus – cortex
Activity coordination (binding) of different cortical regions (synchrony, oscillations)
Meaningless by-product of feedback circuits and connections