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Low-Frequency Oscillations (Anesthesia and Sleep): Overview

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Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience

Synonyms

Delta oscillations; Relay mode; Sleep; Sleep oscillations; Sleep spindles; Slow oscillations; Slow rhythms; Thalamic bursting

Definition

The transition from waking to sleep or to anesthesia is characterized by an increase in the amplitude and a decrease in the frequency of the electrical activity recorded in the electroencephalogram (EEG). The spectral composition of the EEG changes from one dominated by low-amplitude fast frequencies in the beta gamma range to one dominated by the frequency ranges of slow (0.1–1 Hz), delta (1–4 Hz), and sigma (7–15 Hz, which corresponds with sleep spindles) oscillations (Silva and Schomer 2011). The dramatic changes in the EEG during the transition from waking to sleep correlate with the deafferentation of the forebrain from the external world and the suppression of consciousness. This section describes cellular mechanisms and computer models of these oscillatory processes and their functional consequences. In this overview entry, some...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, United States

    Diego Contreras

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  1. Diego Contreras
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Correspondence to Diego Contreras .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    Dieter Jaeger

  2. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA

    Ranu Jung

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Contreras, D. (2014). Low-Frequency Oscillations (Anesthesia and Sleep): Overview. In: Jaeger, D., Jung, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_754-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_754-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-7320-6

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