Thalamocortical and intracortical laminar connectivity determines sleep spindle properties

摘要

Author summary The density of sleep spindles has been shown to correlate with memory consolidation. Sleep spindles occur more often in human MEG than EEG recordings. We developed a thalamocortical network model that is capable of spontaneous generation of spindles across cortical layers and that captures the essential statistical features of spindles observed empirically. Our study predicts that differences in thalamocortical connectivity, known from anatomical studies, are sufficient to explain the differences in the spindle properties between EEG and MEG which are observed in human recordings. Furthermore, our model predicts that intracortical connectivity between cortical layers, a property influenced by sleep preceding learning, increases spindle density. Results from our study highlight the role of intracortical and thalamocortical projections on the occurrence and properties of spindles.