RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Entrainment of Slow Oscillations of Auditory Thalamic Neurons by Repetitive Sound Stimuli JF The Journal of Neuroscience JO J. Neurosci. FD Society for Neuroscience SP 6013 OP 6021 DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5733-08.2009 VO 29 IS 18 A1 Gao, Lixia A1 Meng, Xiankai A1 Ye, Changquan A1 Zhang, Haitian A1 Liu, Chunhua A1 Dan, Yang A1 Poo, Mu-ming A1 He, Jufang A1 Zhang, Xiaohui YR 2009 UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/29/18/6013.abstract AB Slow oscillations at frequencies <1 Hz manifest in many brain regions as discrete transitions between a depolarized up state and a hyperpolarized down state of the neuronal membrane potential. Although up and down states are known to differentially affect sensory-evoked responses, whether and how they are modulated by sensory stimuli are not well understood. In the present study, intracellular recording in anesthetized guinea pigs showed that membrane potentials of nonlemniscal auditory thalamic neurons exhibited spontaneous up/down transitions at random intervals in the range of 2–30 s, which could be entrained to a regular interval by repetitive sound stimuli. After termination of the entraining stimulation (ES), regular up/down transitions persisted for several cycles at the ES interval. Furthermore, the efficacy of weak sound stimuli in triggering the up-to-down transition was potentiated specifically at the ES interval for at least 10 min. Extracellular recordings in the auditory thalamus of unanesthetized guinea pigs also showed entrainment of slow oscillations by rhythmic sound stimuli during slow wave sleep. These results demonstrate a novel form of network plasticity, which could help to retain the information of stimulus interval on the order of seconds.