Sleep Produced by Electrical Stimulation of the Thalamus

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Abstract
Stimulation of the lamina medullaris interna of the thalamus using the technic of Hess has produced sleep in cats. Usually 3 periods of stimulation of 60 sec. with intervals of 2.5 min. are required to produce sleep. Quietening of the animal is however apparent from the first stimulation period onwards. The naturalness of the sleep is controlled by biological observations; notably that the cat will always be aroused by, for example, the smell of meat. Electrical activity of the brain during the onset and duration of sleep was recorded from epidural and thalamic electrodes with a Grass encephalograph. The onset of sleep was accompanied by the interruption of normal activation pattern, by a resting rhythm of 8-12/sec. and afterwards development of spindle bursts activity (12-15/sec). Deep sleep was characterized by slow waves (2-4/sec). EEG-records of spontaneously sleeping cats and those following intralaminar stimulation are precisely similar.

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