Spiraling\u00a0waves of neural activity\u00a0appear and\u00a0travel in the brain. Scientists\u00a0hope to\u00a0learn if these rotating waves\u00a0on-the-move\u00a0play a\u00a0global\u00a0role in\u00a0sensing\u00a0and interpreting\u00a0internal and external\u00a0stimuli, in\u00a0laying down memory, and in managing motor performance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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We discovered a new kind of brain wave\u00a0that specifically\u202frotates\u202fover space and time,\u00a0relies on a circular anatomical circuit in\u00a0the\u00a0sensory cortex, and impacts activity across the brain.”<\/p>\n
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Nick Steinmetz,\u00a0associate professor of neurobiology and biophysics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle<\/p>\n
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His\u00a0team led the research.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Details on these\u00a0traveling,\u00a0whirling\u00a0brain waves, as well\u00a0as data on\u00a0their activity\u00a0during certain\u00a0behaviors in mice, are\u00a0reported this week in\u00a0Science.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The\u00a0findings\u00a0on these vortex-like waves are, as they say, head-spinning.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The scientists\u00a0examined how\u00a0a mouse\u00a0brain’s\u00a0anatomical wiring\u00a0coordinates the structure and propagation of\u00a0the\u00a0waves, which\u00a0most\u00a0commonly\u00a0originate\u00a0in the\u00a0somatosensory region.\u00a0This area\u00a0processes\u00a0sensations\u00a0felt by the skin and muscles\u00a0and\u00a0cues about the\u00a0body’s position, posture and\u00a0parts,\u00a0as well as\u00a0other stimuli.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The neurons that generate\u00a0these\u00a0rotating\u00a0waves\u00a0form a\u00a0merry-go-round-like\u00a0pattern\u00a0in the\u00a0brain’s\u00a0sensory cortex.\u00a0Their\u00a0axons,\u00a0which produce electrical signals,\u00a0point\u00a0in\u00a0a circle.\u00a0This\u00a0fixed\u00a0architectural arrangement,\u00a0almost like\u00a0rail cars along a\u00a0round track,\u00a0coincides\u00a0with the\u00a0brain\u00a0wave’s spiral\u00a0motion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The waves were mirrored\u00a0on both sides of the\u00a0mouse\u00a0brain and\u00a0coordinated between both sensory and motor parts of the brain.\u00a0The scientists\u00a0observed\u00a0that the spiral waves\u00a0also\u00a0timed\u00a0with spiking\u00a0detected\u00a0in\u00a0deeper\u00a0areas\u00a0of the brain\u00a0associated more with\u00a0low-level\u00a0functions.\u00a0These include the thalamus,\u00a0striatum\u00a0and midbrain.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because\u00a0these rotating waves travel\u00a0to different\u00a0brain regions,\u00a0they\u00a0may play a role in sharing information across parts of the brain responsible for different\u00a0but interdependent\u00a0functions.\u00a0For example,\u00a0the\u00a0interplay between the\u00a0sensory cortex\u00a0and\u00a0the\u00a0motor cortex\u00a0of\u00a0the brain\u00a0is\u00a0likely\u00a0crucial\u00a0to\u00a0navigating\u00a0one’s\u00a0surroundings\u00a0and other voluntary physical\u00a0movements.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The\u00a0scientists conducted their studies using\u00a0cortex-wide brain imaging and\u00a0large-scale electrophysiology\u00a0measurements.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Among their approaches were to see the\u00a0effects of a tiny puff of air on mouse’s\u00a0left\u00a0facial\u00a0whiskers.\u00a0This\u00a0stimulus evoked\u00a0a sequence of\u00a0clockwise\u00a0rotating waves\u00a0of neural activity\u00a0in the right sensory cortex\u00a0with corresponding waves in the motor cortex.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The\u00a0scientists\u00a0also\u00a0encouraged\u00a0mice\u00a0with a reward\u00a0for an\u00a0object-detection\u00a0game\u00a0that\u00a0required\u00a0paw and eye\u00a0coordination.\u00a0The scientists\u00a0noticed\u00a0rotating brain wave\u00a0differences\u00a0that\u00a0varied depending on the mouse’s arousal state\u00a0and\u00a0its\u00a0success\u00a0at\u00a0performing\u00a0the task.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The researchers have yet to\u00a0determine\u00a0if rotating traveling waves are coordinated globally to the same\u00a0extent\u00a0in other species, including humans,\u00a0as\u00a0they are in mice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As to the function of\u00a0rotating wave dynamics,\u00a0the scientists surmise that they might be\u00a0serving\u00a0as space-and-time clocks to\u00a0set\u00a0the chain of events\u00a0of sensation followed by\u00a0action.\u00a0The\u00a0waves\u00a0could also help\u00a0pave\u00a0connections\u00a0that\u00a0become\u00a0more entrenched\u00a0with practicing a\u00a0visual-motor task.\u00a0By\u00a0streaming\u00a0across several\u00a0brain areas,\u00a0such waves\u00a0might\u00a0provide\u00a0a way for the brain to\u00a0begin to\u00a0predict\u00a0sensory sequences\u00a0and coordinate motor responses.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The first author of the paper, Zhiwen Ye,\u00a0will next set up his own research lab as a\u00a0junior\u00a0principal\u00a0investigator in the Institute of Neuromodulation and Cognition, part of the Shenzhen Medical Academy of Research and Translation, a newly established biomedical research institute\u00a0in\u00a0China.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The research was supported by a National Science Foundation CAREER\u00a0award (2142911), with additional support from\u00a0the Pew Biomedical Scholars Program, Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship\u00a0Award\u00a0in Neuroscience,\u00a0National Institutes of Health BRAIN Initiative (U19MH114830), a postdoctoral fellowship from the Washington Research Foundation,\u00a0and postdoctoral support from National Eye Institute\u00a0(EY07031).\u00a0<\/p>\n
Source:<\/p>\n
University of Washington School of Medicine<\/a><\/p>\n Journal reference:<\/p>\n