Today’s spotlight features an image by Jose-Luis Olivares/MIT.
Sleep is usually considered an all-or-nothing state: The brain is either entirely awake or entirely asleep. However, MIT neuroscientists have discovered a brain circuit that can trigger small regions of the brain to fall asleep, while the rest of the brain remains awake.
This circuit originates in a brain structure known as the thalamic reticular nucleus, which relays signals to the thalamus and then the brain’s cortex, inducing pockets of the slow, oscillating brain waves characteristic of sleep. With enough TRN activity, these waves can take over the entire brain.
Read full article.
Sleep is usually considered an all-or-nothing state: The brain is either entirely awake or entirely asleep. However, MIT neuroscientists have discovered a brain circuit that can trigger small regions of the brain to fall asleep, while the rest of the brain remains awake.
This circuit originates in a brain structure known as the thalamic reticular nucleus, which relays signals to the thalamus and then the brain’s cortex, inducing pockets of the slow, oscillating brain waves characteristic of sleep. With enough TRN activity, these waves can take over the entire brain.
Read full article.