Biology subjects

Kilianski, S.

Publications and source records attributed to Kilianski, S..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Spike-wave discharges reflect widespread, but non-uniform, cortical hypersynchrony during immobility

Spike-wave discharges (SWDs) are the electrographic hallmark of absence epilepsy, yet direct evidence for their proposed basis in cortical hypersynchrony has been scarce. We addressed this gap by recording neuronal populations across three cortical regions - primary somatosensory (S1), visual (V1), and secondary motor cortex (M2) - using silicon probe arrays in spontaneously seizing C3H/HeJ mice. SWDs drove profound increases in neuronal synchrony, rhythmicity, and phase-locking across all recorded regions. V1 and M2 neurons were clearly entrained to SWD cycles, though less strongly than S1 neurons. Electrical stimulation of both S1 and V1 could induce or terminate SWDs, supporting widespread network involvement. Finally, we also provide evidence that SWD-associated reductions in firing rate could be attributable to co-occurring behavioral immobility rather than to the seizures themselves.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Thalamic hubs as early sources of global neuronal synchrony in absence epilepsy

Generalized seizures reflect a pathological state of sudden, global neuronal hypersynchrony. The mechanisms that support the initiation and maintenance of such synchrony remain unknown. Using simultaneous single-unit and electrocorticographic recordings in two mouse models of absence epilepsy, we evaluated the activity of approximately 2,000 individual neurons across 26 brain structures. By doing so, we resolved the temporal progression of single neuron activity prior to and during generalized seizures. Surprisingly, we observed that rhythmic, synchronized activity emerges early and gradually in both thalamus and cortex. Moreover, while we observe that individual neurons across most structures fire rhythmically and synchronously during seizures, a small subset of midline thalamic nuclei display activity that is strongly correlated across multiple regions. Finally, disturbing neuronal activity within the midline thalamus terminates seizures. Thus, our findings collectively highlight the possible role of the midline thalamus in emergence of neuronal hypersynchrony.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Interleaved Replay of Novel and Familiar Memory Traces During Slow-Wave Sleep Prevents Catastrophic Forgetting

Humans and animals can learn continuously, acquiring new knowledge while integrating it into a lifelong memory pool. In contrast, artificial neural networks (ANNs) suffer from catastrophic forgetting, where new training disrupts existing memories. This issue can be alleviated in ANNs by interleaving training on new tasks with past data; however, whether the brain uses a similar strategy is unknown. In this work, we show that slow-wave sleep interleaves replay of familiar and novel (i.e. hippocampal-dependent) memory traces within individual slow waves, allowing new memories to integrate into the existing cortical pool without interference. This study presents a novel theory for how memory traces acquired across an animals life are organized within the cortical-hippocampal system to support continual learning and suggests novel principles for a broad range of continual learning AI.

neuroscience↗