Abstract
The notion of large scale synchronized neuronal activity advancing at slow speeds through neural tissue in the form of a traveling wave does not resonate with current concepts of how activity spreads through the nervous system during its normal mode of operation. Such a notion, however, is not new and has often been discussed in the context of various disorders of the nervous system. More recently, slow waves of synchronous activity have been described in the developing retina in vitro1.2 and in a “sleeping” lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) slice preparation,’ all of which suggests that large-scale synchronization of neurons occurring in the form of traveling waves may play important roles in normal, as well as abnormal, brain function. How ubiquitous traveling waves actually are in the nervous system is not known, but the more widespread use of assorted multisite electrophysiological recording and imaging techniques will make it possible in the future to uncover other examples where they may exist.
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Peinado, A. (1996). Dendritic Gap Junctions in Developing Neocortex: A Possible Route for Wave-Like Propagation of Neuronal Activity. In: Gap Junctions in the Nervous System. Neuroscience Intelligence Unit. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-21935-5_17
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-21935-5_17
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