ABOVE: During sleep, waves of fluid surge into the brain and can be visualized with functional MRI. At an earlier timepoint (left), a wave of blood (red) is followed (right) by a pulse of cerebrospinal fluid (blue) into the fourth ventricle.
LAURA LEWIS
While humans sleep, huge waves of the cerebrospinal fluid that envelops the brain rhythmically flow in and out of the organ, according to a new study published today (October 31) in Science. The authors show that these CSF dynamics are connected to slow waves of neuronal activity, which are characteristic of deep sleep, and corresponding oscillations in the brain’s blood volume. Coupled with recent indications that CSF clears waste products from the brain, the findings shed light on the benefits of sleep for the central nervous system.
The work “is exciting because it’s linking neural activity to blood flow and cleaning the brain. Most neuroscientists would not say ...
