BIO 337 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Reticular Formation, Delta Wave, Brainstem
Document Summary
Strategies for dissecting sleep circuits - typically use combination (1) lesions - establishes necessity (not sufficiency) of lesioned area for specific function. Phenotype of lesioned animal may not be directly reflect the lost function. Another area may take over (sloppily or differentially) --> what you see isn"t what the lesioned area is responsible, but rather what happens when the brain tries to correct it. Same issue with all kinds of lesions (including genetic ones. Damage to fibers of passage (can never get rid of fibers of passage) - can account for some loss of function (not the area entirely) Non-specific ablation - hard to damage only a specific area. Easily viewed with staining regimens (nissl, etc. ) (2) recording of neuronal discharge activity - provides detailed info on temporal coding in real time (animal oscillating between sleep and awake states) Test pharmacological effect of certain nts on lts vs non-lts cells (na- = inhibited by chemical, na+ = excited (triggered ap))
