Development of the Brain's Default Mode Network from Wakefulness to Slow Wave Sleep
Cerebral Cortex February 17, 2011 Philipp G. Sämann, Renate Wehrle, David Hoehn et al. 408 citations
As people fall asleep, the brain's default mode network (DMN) and its anticorrelated network (ACN) break down. In 25 healthy participants, functional connectivity between key brain regions—especially the posterior cingulate cortex, parahippocampal gyrus, and medial prefrontal cortex—decreased with deeper non-REM sleep. The loss of synchronization between the posterior and anterior midline nodes of the DMN, and between the DMN and ACN, suggests that preserved corticocortical connectivity is necessary for maintaining internal and external awareness. The posterior cingulate/retrosplenial cortex appears particularly important for regulating consciousness.