Boston University’s new study revealed that cerebrospinal fluid(CSF) purses in rhythmic patterns in our brain while sleeping. This is the first time to find out a change in CSF during sleep. They also took images of how CSF washes the brain.

Previous studies have revealed that there are electrical waves of activity in the neurons, but not even one of them could discover that the electrical waves are waves in the CSF.

T\It was published on October 31st in Science magazine that the research was conducted by Laura Lewis, the assistant professor of the biomedical engineering department at Boston University, and her team found out how CSF flow is related to blood flow and electrical activity in the brain.

waves of blood oxygenation (red) and waves of cerebrospinal fluid (blue). Cerebrospinal fluid flows into the brain as blood flow decreases

In the study, Lewis used Electroencephalography(EEG) and cutting-edge fMRI to monitor brain waves and to measure the change in blood oxygenation and CSF flow. "Before each wave of CSF, we would see a wave of electrical activity in the neurons," Lewis explained. Lewis and her team found out that the electrical wave was similar to the slow-wave which occurs during NREM sleep(Non-rapid eye movement sleep).

During the third stage of NREM sleep, which is also called deep sleep, brain activity decreases and breathing becomes slower, reducing the oxygen needed and amount of blood in the brain. The decrease in blood results in more room for CSF to flow into the brain, so it flows into the brain to fill the space and maintain its pressure. Then CSF cleans away toxic waste in the brain.
It is already known that sleep disturbance is related to brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and depression. “We know that people with Alzheimer’s have fewer slow waves, so we may find they also have fewer CSF waves,” “We have to do these studies now in older adults and patient populations, to understand what this might mean for those disorders,” Lewis said.

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