Neural assemblies coordinated by cortical waves are associated with waking and hallucinatory brain states

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Perception is modulated by brain state, with stimuli evoking percepts in wakefulness but not under anesthesia.
• Internally generated percepts occur during dreaming and dissociative states, suggesting distinct neural mechanisms.

Approach:

• Investigated brain activity underlying stimulus-evoked versus internally generated perception by comparing awake, anesthetized, and ketamine-dissociated mice.
• Focused on the role of cortical traveling waves and neuronal entrainment in different brain states.

Key Points:

• In awake mice, visual stimuli trigger phase resets of cortical waves, leading to perception.
• Under anesthesia or dissociation, visual stimuli fail to disrupt spontaneous cortical waves.
• In the dissociated state, spontaneous waves mimic stimulus-evoked waves, suggesting perception can manifest.

Conclusions:

• Coordinated neuronal assemblies, orchestrated by traveling cortical waves, are crucial for perception across different brain states.
• The awake state is unique, with external stimuli specifically eliciting this neural coordination for perception.