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Slow Oscillations: Physiology

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Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience

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Synonyms

Up and down states; Slow waves

Definition

Slow oscillations are the coordinated activity of large populations of neurons consisting of an alternation of active periods (Up states) and silent periods (Down states). These oscillations occur with a slow frequency (≤ 1 Hz) in the corticothalamocortical network during slow-wave sleep and deep anesthesia, and they spontaneously occur also in cortical slices. This rhythmic activity emerges in the cortical network when there are no other driving inputs, and it can be considered its default activity. During the active periods, or Up states, neocortical neurons (both excitatory and inhibitory) are depolarized, receive barrages of synaptic inputs, and fire action potentials. During Down states neurons remain hyperpolarized and the synaptic activity is almost nonexistent. This “on-and-off” synaptic activity results in a bimodal distribution of the membrane potential values, an intracellular signature of slow oscillations. During the...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ICREA and Systems Neuroscience, IDIBAPS, Rosello 149-153, 08036, Barcelona, Spain

    Maria Victoria Sanchez-Vives

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  1. Maria Victoria Sanchez-Vives
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Correspondence to Maria Victoria Sanchez-Vives .

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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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Sanchez-Vives, M.V. (2014). Slow Oscillations: Physiology. In: Jaeger, D., Jung, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_308-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_308-1

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