Fast and Slow Spindles during the Sleep Slow Oscillation: Disparate Coalescence and Engagement in Memory Processing

Study Objectives:Thalamo-cortical spindles driven by the up-state of neocortical slow (< 1 Hz) oscillations (SOs) represent a candidate mechanism of memory consolidation during sleep. We examined interactions between SOs and spindles in human slow wave sleep, focusing on the presumed existence of 2 kinds of spindles, i.e., slow frontocortical and fast centro-parietal spindles.