Slide 29

As stated previously, the thalamus and cerebral cortex are innervated by a number of different modulatory transmitter systems from the brainstem and hypothalamus. Numerous studies have implicated these different systems in the ascending control of arousal; in other words in the transition from sleep to waking. We sought to examine the mechanisms by which these brainstem systems modulate arousal by determining their effects on single thalamic and cortical neurons and the generation of sleep spindles.