Novelty-induced correlation between visual neurons and the hippocampal theta rhythm in sleep and wakefulness

Various rhythms have been shown to affect sensory processing such as the waking-sleep cycle and the hippocampal theta waves. Changes in the firing of visual lateral geniculate nucleus neurons have been reported to be dependent on the animal's behavioral state. The lateral geniculate extracellular neuronal firing and hippocampal field activity were recorded in chronically implanted animals to analyze the relationship during quiet wakefulness and sleep associated with stimulation shifts that may introduce novelty. During wakefulness, a change in light flash stimulation pattern (stimuli frequency shift, stimuli on and off) caused an increment in the theta band power in 100% of the cases and a phase-locking of the spikes in 53% of the recorded neurons. During slow wave sleep, there were no consistent changes in the theta power notwithstanding 13% of the neurons exhibited phase-locking, i.e., novelty may induce changes in the temporal correlation of visual neuronal activity with the hippocampal theta rhythm in sleep. The present results suggest that visual processing in slow wave sleep exists, while auditory information and learning were reported during slow wave sleep in animals and newborn humans. The changes in the theta power as well as in the neuronal phase-locking amount indicate that in slow wave sleep, the ability of the hippocampus to detect/process novelty, although present, may be decreased. This is consistent with the noticeable decrease in awareness of the environment during sleep.