Neuronal Oscillations in Sleep: Insights from Functional Neuroimaging

Recent functional neuroimaging studies have investigated brain activity patterns during sleep in humans, beyond the conventionally defined sleep stages. These works have characterized the neural activations related to the major brain oscillations of sleep, that is, spindles and slow waves during non-rapid-eye-movement sleep and ponto-geniculo-occipital waves during rapid-eye-movement sleep. These phasic events have been found associated with increases of brain activity in specific neural networks, which identify structures involved in the generation of sleep oscillations. Most importantly, these results confirm that, even during the deepest stages of sleep, neuronal network activities are sustained and organized by spontaneous brain oscillations of sleep. The understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying sleep oscillations is fundamental since increasing evidence suggests a pivotal role for these rhythms in the functional properties of sleep. In particular, interactions between the sleeping brain and the surrounding environment are closely modulated by neuronal oscillations of sleep. Functional neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that spindles distort the transmission of auditory information to the cortex, therefore isolating the brain from external disturbances during sleep. In contrast, slow waves evoked by acoustic stimulation-and also termed K-complexes-are associated with larger auditory cortex activation, thus reflecting an enhanced processing of external information during sleep. Future brain imaging studies of sleep should further explore the contribution of neuronal oscillations to the off-line consolidation of memory during sleep.