  Information processing in the brain requires integration of information over
time. Such an integration can be achieved if signals are maintained in the
network activity for the required period, as quantified by the intrinsic
timescale. While short timescales are considered beneficial for fast responses
to stimuli, long timescales facilitate information storage and integration. We
quantified intrinsic timescales from spiking activity in the medial temporal
lobe of humans. We found extended and highly diverse timescales ranging from
tens to hundreds of milliseconds, though with no evidence for differences
between subareas. Notably, however, timescales differed between sleep stages
and were longest during slow wave sleep. This supports the hypothesis that
intrinsic timescales are a central mechanism to tune networks to the
requirements of different tasks and cognitive states.
