Neural activity and behavior are both notoriously variable, with responses differing widely
between repeated presentation of identical stimuli or trials. Recent results in humans and …

Abstract Rhythms at slow (< 1 Hz) frequency of alternating Up and Down states occur during
slow-wave sleep states, under deep anaesthesia and in cortical slices of mammals …

Spontaneous brain oscillations during states of vigilance are associated with neuronal
plasticity due to rhythmic spike bursts and spike trains fired by thalamic and neocortical …

Prolonged wakefulness is associated not only with obvious changes in the way we feel and
perform but also with well-known clinical effects, such as increased susceptibility to seizures …

The balance between excitation and inhibition is critical in the physiology of the cerebral
cortex. To understand the influence of inhibitory control on the emergent activity of the …

What determines the firing rate of cortical neurons in the absence of external sensory input
or motor behavior, such as during sleep? Here we report that, in a familiar environment, the …

Rapid variations in cortical state during wakefulness have a strong influence on neural and
behavioural responses and are tightly coupled to changes in pupil size across species …

It is unclear how the complex spatiotemporal organization of ongoing cortical neuronal
activity recorded in anesthetized animals relates to the awake animal. We therefore used …

Wakefulness, along with fast cortical rhythms and associated cognition, depend on the basal
forebrain (BF). BF cholinergic cell loss in dementia and the sedative effect of anti-cholinergic …

Recent advances in neural and behavioural pharmacology, and in intracellular recording
suggest that arousal during the awake state may be regulated by multiple, interdependent …