Neural assemblies coordinated by cortical waves are associated with waking and hallucinatory brain states.
Adeeti Aggarwal, Jennifer Luo, Helen Chung, Diego Contreras, Max B Kelz, Alex Proekt
Cell Reports April 23, 2024 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114017 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Mice |
| Interventions | visual stimuli ketamine |
| Topics | Ketamine |
| Keywords | Cp: neuroscience Vep Feedback Hallucination Isoflurane State specific Traveling waves Travelling cortical waves Visual evoked potential Brain waves Consciousness states Anesthesia effects Visual processing |
| Citations | 17 |
| Key findings | Traveling cortical waves coordinate neuronal assemblies in states where perception can occur, but only in wakefulness are these waves reliably elicited by external visual stimuli. |
Abstract
The relationship between sensory stimuli and perceptions is brain-state dependent: in wakefulness, suprathreshold stimuli evoke perceptions; under anesthesia, perceptions are abolished; and during dreaming and in dissociated states, percepts are internally generated. Here, we exploit this state dependence to identify brain activity associated with internally generated or stimulus-evoked perceptions. In awake mice, visual stimuli phase reset spontaneous cortical waves to elicit 3-6 Hz feedback traveling waves. These stimulus-evoked waves traverse the cortex and entrain visual and parietal neurons. Under anesthesia as well as during ketamine-induced dissociation, visual stimuli do not disrupt spontaneous waves. Uniquely, in the dissociated state, spontaneous waves traverse the cortex caudally and entrain visual and parietal neurons, akin to stimulus-evoked waves in wakefulness. Thus, coordinated neuronal assemblies orchestrated by traveling cortical waves emerge in states in which perception can manifest. The awake state is privileged in that this coordination is reliably elicited by external visual stimuli.
Comparable studies
Other preclinical and animal studies on ketamine, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| mTOR-Dependent Synapse Formation Underlies the Rapid Antidepressant Effects of NMDA Antagonists Rats | 2010 | Observational study | |
| Activation of Glutamatergic Neurotransmission by Ketamine: A Novel Step in the Pathway from NMDA Receptor Blockade to Dopaminergic and Cognitive Disruptions Associated with the Prefrontal Cortex Conscious rats | 1997 | Dose-response study with microdialysis and behavioral testing | |
| NMDAR inhibition-independent antidepressant actions of ketamine metabolites Mice | 2016 | Preclinical study | |
| The dissociative anaesthetics, ketamine and phencyclidine, selectively reduce excitation of central mammalian neurones by N‐methyl‐aspartate Spinal neurons in decerebrate or pentobarbitone-anaesthetized cats and rats | 1983 | Experimental study | |
| R-ketamine: a rapid-onset and sustained antidepressant without psychotomimetic side effects Mice | 2015 | Experimental study |
Citations in the library
Cited by 4
- Cortical Mechanisms Contributing to Ketamine-Induced Dissociation The Neuroscientist December 26, 2025
- Awake cortex stabilizes traveling waves for global and reliable information routing. iScience August 21, 2026
- Ketamine Across the Dose-State Continuum: EEG Signatures, Network Dynamics, and Implications for Brain-State Monitoring in Anesthesia and Critical Care. Brain Sciences August 9, 2026
- Microstimulation reveals anesthetic state-dependent effective connectivity of neurons in cerebral cortex. Frontiers in Neuroscience 2024
Cites 13
- Breakdown of Cortical Effective Connectivity During Sleep Science September 29, 2005
- A Theoretically Based Index of Consciousness Independent of Sensory Processing and Behavior Science Translational Medicine August 14, 2013
- Increased Synchronization of Neuromagnetic Responses during Conscious Perception Journal of Neuroscience July 1, 1999
- Disruption of Frontal–Parietal Communication by Ketamine, Propofol, and Sevoflurane Anesthesiology May 22, 2013
- What Geometric Visual Hallucinations Tell Us about the Visual Cortex Neural Computation March 1, 2002
and 8 more in the library