The type I and type II behavioral--EEG correlate established by Case Vanderwolf (Vanderwolf 1969) and taught ‘as fact’ in his laboratory course has turned out to be one of the most significant observations of brain function, as it relates to consciousness (Tehovnik 2017). We now use this observation to link sleep, voltional/goal directed behavior (Type I behavior), and behavioral immobility (Type II behavior), as mediated by locus coeruleus fibres (Fig. 1). As established by Carter, Deisseroth et al. (2010), optogenetic stimulation (either unilaterally or bilaterally) of the locus coeruleus at less than 5 Hz (in awake animals) facilitates locomotion, whereas such stimulation at greater than 5 Hz evokes immobility and produces large-amplitude irregular EEG activity (see Fig. 5, Carter, Deisseroth et al. 2010). It is during sleep and behavioral immobility that the brain consolidates information at the neocortex and the cerebellum, and during goal-directed behavior the consolidation process is suppressed to prevent against the memorized routines being changed during task execution (Loyola, De Zeeuw 2019; Novitskaya, Logothetis et al. 2016; Wilson and McNaughton 1994), such as when one delivers a lecture to students—but of course any interruption of the lecture is accompanied by a brief pause, which is sufficient to alter the program being executed, which depends on both the neocortex and the cerebellum (Hasanbegović 2024).
It is significant that Vanderwolf hated ‘arousal theory’ (Vanderwolf and Robinson 1981), which is what the locus coeruleus curve maps onto (Fig. 1).
Figure 1: As noted by McGregor and Siegal (2010), the coeruleus activation maps on the conventional arousal curve, which is an inverted U-shaped curve plotting effective arousal as a function of minimal to maximal neural excitability (McGinley et al. 2015). What this should allow for is optimal performance within a range of coeruleus firing, which is broad to accommodate all goal-directed behaviors. Also, at the highest level of coeruleus firing (> 4 Hz applied optogenetically either unilaterally or bilaterally, Carter, Deisseroth et al. 2010), cataplexy sets in, which allows for introspection and other contemplative states. Over contemplation can also induce anxiety/depression, as appreciated by psychiatry. Sexual arousal also tends to occur at the extremes of coeruleus firing.
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Psychology