RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 A temporal sequence of thalamic activity unfolds at transitions in behavioral arousal state
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2021.12.01.470627
DO 10.1101/2021.12.01.470627
A1 Beverly Setzer
A1 Nina E. Fultz
A1 Daniel E. P. Gomez
A1 Stephanie D. Williams
A1 Giorgio Bonmassar
A1 Jonathan R. Polimeni
A1 Laura D. Lewis
YR 2021
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/12/02/2021.12.01.470627.abstract
AB The moment of awakening from sleep reflects a profound transformation in neural activity and behavior. The thalamus is a key controller of arousal state, but whether its diverse nuclei exhibit coordinated or distinct activity at transitions in behavioral arousal state is not known. Using fast fMRI at ultra-high field (7 Tesla), we measured sub-second activity across thalamocortical networks and within nine thalamic nuclei to delineate these dynamics during spontaneous transitions in behavioral arousal state. We discovered a stereotyped sequence of activity across thalamic nuclei that preceded behavioral arousal after a period of inactivity, followed by widespread cortical deactivation. These thalamic dynamics were linked to whether participants remained awake or fell back asleep, with unified thalamic activation reflecting subsequent maintenance of awake behavior. These results provide an outline of the complex interactions across thalamocortical circuits that orchestrate arousal state transitions, and additionally, demonstrate that fast fMRI can resolve sub-second subcortical dynamics in the human brain.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.