Fig. 5: Four distinct firing patterns of cortical and thalamic neurons during absence seizures.

a Firing rates in 0.5 s bins (scaled for each neuron relative to total range of firing in visualized period, see Methods) for each group of neurons showing the distinctive dynamics around seizure onset/offset from which their names are derived: SD sustained decrease (n neurons = 59 cortex, 76 thalamus), SI sustained increase (n neurons = 15 cortex, 7 thalamus), OP onset peak (n neurons = 44 cortex, 27 thalamus), NC no change (n neurons = 41 cortex, 52 thalamus). Also indicated is the percentage of all neurons in each group. b Mean distribution of action potentials in 1 ms bins around EEG spikes (time 0)s of spike-wave cycles for the same groups. Oscillations within each cycle include periods of firing that are increased (peak surplus) or decreased (trough deficit) relative to baseline non-seizure periods (see also Fig. 3c; Supplementary Fig. 4e, f), which explain overall changes in firing seen during spike-wave discharges (SWD) for each group (see a). c Onset Peak neurons show higher oscillation frequency, and larger peaks in firing during first 1 s after seizure onset compared to the entire seizure period, explaining transiently increased firing at seizure onset. Data in b and c are from same neurons as in a. All traces are mean; shading denotes standard error of mean. Purple indicates cortical seizure data, green indicates thalamic seizure data, and amber indicates baseline firing.