Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2020.07.29.226647v1?rss=1 Authors: Cui, Y., Li, M., Biswal, B., Jing, W., Zhou, C., Liu, H., Guo, D., Xia, Y., Yan, D. Abstract: The activity in the default mode network (DMN) rapidly fluctuates in different conscious stages during wakefulness and sleep, indicating high complexity for the role of DMN in consciousness. Tracking the dynamics of these fluctuations is critical for deeply understanding the physiological mechanism of consciousness. Here, we propose a coactive micropattern (CAMP) method to extract the dynamic configuration of local field potentials (LFPs) in the rat DMN. Three spatially stable CAMPs were detected from DMN gamma activity (40-80 Hz) across wakefulness and sleep, consisting of a common low-activity level micropattern, an anterior high-activity level micropattern and a posterior high-activity level micropattern. Temporal structures of these CAMPs were specific to different conscious stages. A dynamic balance across CAMPs emerged during wakefulness and was disrupted in sleep stages, demonstrating that the balanced dynamic configuration of CAMPs played a vital role in supporting higher cognitive functions and primary consciousness. Furthermore, all these CAMPs displayed strong phasic relationships to the up-down states of the slow DMN activity during deep sleep. Our study reveals that the consciousness levels of different conscious stages are determined by the dynamic configurations of DMN activity, and provides a potential three-state model for the consciousness during wakefulness and sleep. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info