EEG Bands of Wakeful Rest, Slow-Wave and Rapid-Eye-Movement Sleep at Different Brain Areas in Rats

Accumulating evidence reveals that neuronal oscillations with various frequency bands in the brain have different physiological functions. However, the frequency band divisions in rats were typically based on empirical spectral distribution from limited channels information. In the present study, functionally relevant frequency bands across vigilance states and brain regions were identified using factor analysis based on 9 channels EEG signals recorded from multiple brain areas in rats. We found that frequency band divisions varied both across vigilance states and brain regions. In particular, theta oscillations during REM sleep were subdivided into two bands, 5-7 and 8-11 Hz corresponding to the tonic and phasic stages, respectively. The spindle activities of SWS were different along the anterior-posterior axis, lower oscillations (~16 Hz) in frontal regions and higher in parietal (~21 Hz). The delta and theta activities co-varied in the visual and auditory cortex during wakeful rest. In addition, power spectra of beta oscillations were significantly decreased in association cortex during REM sleep compared with wakeful rest. These results provide us some new insights into understand the brain oscillations across vigilance states, and also indicate that the spatial factor should not be ignored when considering the frequency band divisions in rats.