Berlin 2015 – scientific programme
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DY: Fachverband Dynamik und Statistische Physik
DY 56: Poster - Statistical Physics
DY 56.20: Poster
Thursday, March 19, 2015, 16:00–18:00, Poster A
Characterization of K-Complexes and Slow Wave Activity in a Neural Mass Model — Arne Weigenand1, •Michael Schellenberger Costa1, Hong-Viet Victor Ngo1,2, Jens Christian Claussen3,1, and Thomas Martinetz1 — 1Institut für Neuro- und Bioinformatik, Univ. Lübeck — 2Institut for Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, Univ. Tübingen — 3Computational Systems Biology Lab, Jacobs Univ. Bremen
NREM sleep is characterized by two hallmarks, namely K-complexes (KCs) during sleep stage N2 and cortical slow oscillations
(SOs) during sleep stage N3. While the underlying dynamics on the neuronal level is well known and can be easily measured,
the resulting behavior on the macroscopic population level remains unclear. On the basis of an extended neural mass
model of the cortex, we suggest a new interpretation of the mechanisms responsible for the generation of KCs and SOs [1]. As
the cortex transitions from wake to deep sleep, in our model it approaches an oscillatory regime via a Hopf bifurcation.
Importantly, there is a canard phenomenon arising from a homoclinic bifurcation, whose orbit determines the shape of
large amplitude SOs. A KC corresponds to a single excursion along the homoclinic orbit, while SOs are noise-driven
oscillations around a stable focus. The model generates both time series and spectra that strikingly resemble real
electroencephalogram data and points out possible differences between the different stages of natural sleep.
[1] A. Weigenand, M. Schellenberger Costa, H-VV Ngo, JC Claussen, T. Martinetz, PLoS Comput Biol 10, e1003923 (2014)