Causal interactions between thalamic and cortical LFPs following hypoxic-ischemic brain injury

Asphyxial cardiac arrest (CA) introduces a global hypoxic-ischemic insult to the brain and disturbs the neural networks. We analyzed the thalamocortical interactions in a rat model of asphyxial CA, using the local field potentials recorded from the thalamus and cortex during CA and the recovery periods. The direct Directed Transfer Function (dDTF) and Directed Information Flow (DIF) were applied to characterize the causal coherence and causal mutual information of the network, respectively. Key results from dDTF and DIF analyses suggest from complementary perspectives that the thalamus may play a leading role in arousal in an ischemic brain.