Cash Sydney S, Halgren Eric, Dehghani Nima, Rossetti Andrea O, Thesen Thomas, Wang Chunmao, Devinsky Orrin, Kuzniecky Ruben, Doyle Werner, Madsen Joseph R, Bromfield Edward, Eross Loránd, Halász Péter, Karmos George, Csercsa Richárd, Wittner Lucia, Ulbert István
Department of Neurology, Epilepsy Division, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Science. 2009 May 22;324(5930):1084-7. doi: 10.1126/science.1169626.
The electroencephalogram (EEG) is a mainstay of clinical neurology and is tightly correlated with brain function, but the specific currents generating human EEG elements remain poorly specified because of a lack of microphysiological recordings. The largest event in healthy human EEGs is the K-complex (KC), which occurs in slow-wave sleep. Here, we show that KCs are generated in widespread cortical areas by outward dendritic currents in the middle and upper cortical layers, accompanied by decreased broadband EEG power and decreased neuronal firing, which demonstrate a steep decline in network activity. Thus, KCs are isolated "down-states," a fundamental cortico-thalamic processing mode already characterized in animals. This correspondence is compatible with proposed contributions of the KC to sleep preservation and memory consolidation.
脑电图（EEG）是临床神经学的主要手段，与脑功能密切相关，但由于缺乏微生理记录，产生人类脑电图成分的具体电流仍不清楚。健康人类脑电图中最大的事件是K复合波（KC），它出现在慢波睡眠中。在这里，我们表明，K复合波是由皮质中上层向外的树突电流在广泛的皮质区域产生的，同时伴有宽带脑电图功率降低和神经元放电减少，这表明网络活动急剧下降。因此，K复合波是孤立的“下行状态”，这是一种已在动物身上得到表征的基本皮质-丘脑处理模式。这种对应关系与K复合波对睡眠维持和记忆巩固的作用相一致。
