Analysis of signal fluctuations of Cortical Spreading Depression: Preliminary findings

In this work, we apply Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA) to study the dynamics of electrical cortical activity in rats during the phenomenon of Cortical Spreading Depression (CSD), as well as the periods before and after this phenomenon. The characteristic of CSD is reduced electrical activity that occurs and spreads in the cerebral cortex after the application of electrical, chemical or mechanical stimulus. Our results show that the electrocorticogram signal shows long range temporal correlations and scaling behavior, except during the pre-CSD burst phase (significant increase of amplitude provoked by stimulus).