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On the co‐occurrence of startles and hippocampal sharp waves in newborn rats
Author(s) -
Karlsson Karl Æ.,
Mohns Ethan J.,
di Prisco Gonzalo Viana,
Blumberg Mark S.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
hippocampus
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.767
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1098-1063
pISSN - 1050-9631
DOI - 10.1002/hipo.20224
Subject(s) - hippocampal formation , neuroscience , hippocampus , brainstem , population , chemistry , biology , medicine , environmental health
Hippocampal sharp waves (SPWs) are among the earliest neural population patterns observed in infant mammals. Similarly, startles are among the earliest behavioral events observed. Here we provide evidence indicating that these two events are linked mechanistically soon after birth in freely moving and head‐fixed 1 to 4‐day‐old rats. EMG electrodes and intrahippocampal silicon depth electrodes were used to detect the presence of startles and SPWs, respectively. In intact pups, the majority of sharp waves were preceded by startles (average latency: 161 ms). When the hippocampal formation was surgically separated from the brainstem, however, sharp waves and startles still occurred, but now independently. In addition, unrelated to startles or SPWs, gamma oscillations were detected in several subjects, as were neocortical “spindles” that propagated passively into the hippocampus. The cooccurrence of sharp waves and startles provides the opportunity for Hebbian changes in synaptic efficacy and, thus, is poised to contribute to the assembly of neural circuits early in development. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.