Dynamic neuronal ensembles encode burst-suppression revealed by cortex-wide optical-electrical interfaces

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Systems Neuroscience
• Computational Neuroscience

Background:

• Burst suppression is a common pattern of brain activity during unconsciousness.
• The precise neuronal organization underlying burst suppression is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the cortex-wide neuronal dynamics during burst suppression.
• To understand the organization of neuronal ensembles during anesthesia-induced unconsciousness.

Main Methods:

• Development and application of an integrated Cortex-wide Optical-electrical Dual-modal Explorer (CODE) system.
• Simultaneous electrocorticography (ECoG) and calcium imaging in mice under isoflurane anesthesia.
• Analysis of neuronal synchrony, functional connectivity, and signal propagation.

Main Results:

• Identified distinct neuronal ensembles that associate with burst or suppression events.
• Burst events showed high synchrony and connectivity; suppression events showed asynchronous activity and reduced connectivity.
• Observed sequential, directional propagation of activity across cortical regions during state transitions.

Conclusions:

• Revealed the single-neuron-to-population architecture of burst suppression.
• Demonstrated how integrated optical-electrical measurements facilitate large-scale interrogation of cortical dynamics.
• Provided insights into the dynamic recruitment and reactivation of neuronal ensembles during unconsciousness.