Researchers at the Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, and the University of Bern have, for the first time, directly measured how the human brain exchanges probing signals when asleep and when awake. Using electrodes temporarily implanted in the brain for clinical reasons, they were able to track the flow of signals between deep brain regions and the cerebral cortex with millisecond accuracy over a period of 24 hours. The study provides new insights into the way brain networks communicate and could enable the development of more precisely targeted brain therapies in the long term.