RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Distinct Patterns of Striatal Medium Spiny Neuron Activity during the Natural Sleep–Wake Cycle JF The Journal of Neuroscience JO J. Neurosci. FD Society for Neuroscience SP 12587 OP 12595 DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3987-06.2006 VO 26 IS 48 A1 Séverine Mahon A1 Nicolas Vautrelle A1 Laurent Pezard A1 Seán J. Slaght A1 Jean-Michel Deniau A1 Guy Chouvet A1 Stéphane Charpier YR 2006 UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/26/48/12587.abstract AB Striatal medium-sized spiny neurons (MSNs) integrate and convey information from the cerebral cortex to the output nuclei of the basal ganglia. Intracellular recordings from anesthetized animals show that MSNs undergo spontaneous transitions between hyperpolarized and depolarized states. State transitions, regarded as necessary for eliciting action potential firing in MSNs, are thought to control basal ganglia function by shaping striatal output. Here, we use an anesthetic-free rat preparation to show that the intracellular activity of MSNs is not stereotyped and depends critically on vigilance state. During slow-wave sleep, much as during anesthesia, MSNs displayed rhythmic step-like membrane potential shifts, correlated with cortical field potentials. However, wakefulness was associated with a completely different pattern of temporally disorganized depolarizing synaptic events of variable amplitude. Transitions from slow-wave sleep to wakefulness converted striatal discharge from a cyclic brisk firing to an irregular pattern of action potentials. These findings illuminate different capabilities of information processing in basal ganglia networks, suggesting in particular that a novel style of striatal computation is associated with the waking state.