Functional changes of the brainstem triggering vertex sharp wave with spindle.
A vertex sharp wave followed by spindle (VS-spindle) is one of the hallmarks of human stage 2 sleep. We recorded sleep electroencephalograms (EEG) simultaneously with brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEP) from nine healthy male subjects. To investigate the generating mechanism of the VS-spindle, sequentially changing BAEP were analyzed around the VS-spindle. The results revealed the preceding changes of wave-V amplitude to the onset of the VS-spindle. When the generator site of wave-V in the brainstem was considered, the results suggest that the functional changes in the dorsal area of the midbrain-pontine junction participate in the organization of the VS-spindle.
Sakai
T
T
Department of Pediatrics, Hokkaido University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.
Kohsaka
S
S
Kohsaka
M
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000502:physiology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D004569:Electroencephalography; D016057:Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008636:Mesencephalon / Q000502:physiology; D017286:Polysomnography; D011149:Pons / Q000502:physiology; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D012894:Sleep Stages / Q000502:physiology*