Electroencephalographic Desynchronization during Deep Sleep after Destruction of Midbrain-Limbic Pathways in the Cat

Abstract

Lesions which interrupt the ascending limb of the midbrain-limbic circuit in the cat at different levels, or which even destroy it completely, do not prevent electroencephalographic desynchronization at the beginning of periods of deep sleep, nor do they affect the maintenance of desynchronization throughout the sleep episodes. The pontine mechanisms responsible for these electroencephalographic patterns can apparently exert their influence through ascending pathways other than those directly impinging on the hypothalamus and the limbic system.