The effects of leptin on REM sleep and slow wave delta in rats are reversed by food deprivation. (1/156)

Leptin (ob protein) is an adipose tissue derived circulating hormone that acts at specific receptors in the hypothalamus to reduce food intake. The protein is also critically involved in energy balance and metabolic status. Here the effect of leptin on sleep architecture in rats was evaluated because food consumption and metabolic status are known to influence sleep. Sprague-Dawley rats were chronically implanted with electrodes for EEG and EMG recording and diurnal sleep parameters were quantified over 9-h periods following leptin administration. Murine recombinant leptin (rMuLep) was administered systemically to rats that either had undergone 18 h of prior food deprivation or had received food ad libitum. In the normally fed rats, leptin significantly decreased the duration of rapid eye movement sleep (REMS) by about 30% and increased the duration of slow wave sleep (SWS) by about 13%, the latter effect reflecting enhanced power in the delta frequency band. These results are consistent with studies that have linked changes in metabolic rate with effects on sleep. Leptin administration has previously been shown to alter neuroendocrine parameters that could have mediated these changes in sleep architecture. Unexpectedly, prior food deprivation negated the effect of leptin on both REMS and SWS, a result that emphasizes the significance of the apparent coupling between sleep parameters and energy status.  (+info)

Increased gamma- and decreased delta-oscillations in a mouse deficient for a potassium channel expressed in fast-spiking interneurons. (2/156)

Kv3.1 is a voltage-gated, fast activating/deactivating potassium (K(+)) channel with a high-threshold of activation and a large unit conductance. Kv3.1 K(+) channels are expressed in fast-spiking, parvalbumin-containing interneurons in cortex, hippocampus, striatum, the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN), and in several nuclei of the brain stem. A high density of Kv3.1 channels contributes to short-duration action potentials, fast afterhyperpolarizations, and brief refractory periods enhancing the capability in these neurons for high-frequency firing. Kv3.1 K(+) channel expression in the TRN and cortex also suggests a role in thalamocortical and cortical function. Here we show that fast gamma and slow delta oscillations recorded from the somatomotor cortex are altered in the freely behaving Kv3.1 mutant mouse. Electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings from homozygous Kv3.1(-/-) mice show a three- to fourfold increase in both absolute and relative spectral power in the gamma frequency range (20-60 Hz). In contrast, Kv3.1-deficient mice have a 20-50% reduction of power in the slow delta range (2-3 Hz). The increase in gamma power is most prominent during waking in the 40- to 55-Hz range, whereas the decrease in delta power occurs equally across all states of arousal. Our findings suggest that Kv3. 1-expressing neurons are involved in the generation and maintenance of cortical fast gamma and slow delta oscillations. Hence the Kv3. 1-mutant mouse could serve as a model to study the generation and maintenance of fast gamma and slow delta rhythms and their involvement in behavior and cognition.  (+info)

The transcription factor DBP affects circadian sleep consolidation and rhythmic EEG activity. (3/156)

Albumin D-binding protein (DBP) is a PAR leucine zipper transcription factor that is expressed according to a robust circadian rhythm in the suprachiasmatic nuclei, harboring the circadian master clock, and in most peripheral tissues. Mice lacking DBP display a shorter circadian period in locomotor activity and are less active. Thus, although DBP is not essential for circadian rhythm generation, it does modulate important clock outputs. We studied the role of DBP in the circadian and homeostatic aspects of sleep regulation by comparing DBP deficient mice (dbp-/-) with their isogenic controls (dbp+/+) under light-dark (LD) and constant-dark (DD) baseline conditions, as well as after sleep loss. Whereas total sleep duration was similar in both genotypes, the amplitude of the circadian modulation of sleep time, as well as the consolidation of sleep episodes, was reduced in dbp-/- under both LD and DD conditions. Quantitative EEG analysis demonstrated a marked reduction in the amplitude of the sleep-wake-dependent changes in slow-wave sleep delta power and an increase in hippocampal theta peak frequency in dbp-/- mice. The sleep deprivation-induced compensatory rebound of EEG delta power was similar in both genotypes. In contrast, the rebound in paradoxical sleep was significant in dbp+/+ mice only. It is concluded that the transcriptional regulatory protein DBP modulates circadian and homeostatic aspects of sleep regulation.  (+info)

Investigation of nonlinear ECoG changes during spontaneous sleep state changes and cortical arousal in fetal sheep. (4/156)

We examined the processes of cortical activation and deactivation of the fetal brain during spontaneous sleep state transitions and during central nervous processing of vibroacoustic stimulations (VASs) using nonlinear analysis of the electrocorticogram (ECoG). Tests of nonlinearity and a random shuffling routine revealed deterministic and nonlinear portions in the fetal ECoG. As common nonlinear measures are not applicable to nonstationary time series, we developed an algorithm to estimate the predictability of the ECoG in its time course by means of a point prediction error (PPE). The ECoG was recorded before and during VAS from the maternal abdominal surface in seven chronically instrumented fetal sheep at 0.8 of gestation. The PPE during REM sleep was significantly higher than during NREM sleep. VAS in NREM sleep resulted in an abrupt increase of the PPE not reaching the level of REM sleep. The steep increase of the PPE at onset and its slow decrease after cessation of the stimulus were very similar to the dynamics of spontaneous sleep state transitions, suggesting the involvement of the same cortical activating mechanisms. In conclusion, the stage and the time course of fetal brain activation and deactivation patterns can be clearly shown by PPE techniques. The PPE is a useful complement to spectral analysis. Both techniques describe different properties of the ECoG.  (+info)

Effect of lesions of the ventrolateral preoptic nucleus on NREM and REM sleep. (5/156)

Neurons in the ventrolateral preoptic nucleus (VLPO) in rats show c-fos activation after sleep and provide GABAergic innervation of the major monoamine arousal systems, suggesting that they may be a necessary part of the brain circuitry that produces sleep. We examined the effects on sleep behavior in rats of cell-specific damage to the VLPO by microinjection of ibotenic acid. Severe lesions of the central cell cluster of the VLPO ( approximately 80-90% cell loss bilaterally) caused a 60-70% decrease in delta power and a 50-60% decrease in nonrapid-eye-movement (NREM) sleep time (p < 0.001). The number of remaining Fos-immunoreactive neurons in the VLPO cell cluster was linearly related to NREM sleep time (r = 0.77; p < 0.001) and total electroencephalogram delta power (r = 0. 79; p < 0.001) but not to rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep (r = 0.35; p > 0.10). Lesions in the region containing scattered VLPO neurons medial or dorsal to the cell cluster caused smaller changes in NREM sleep time (24.5 or 15%, respectively) but were more closely associated with loss of REM sleep (r = 0.74; p < 0.01). The insomnia caused by bilateral VLPO lesions persisted for at least 3 weeks. Lesions of the VLPO caused no change in mean body temperature or its circadian variation; after small lesions of the ventromedial preoptic nucleus, body temperature showed normal circadian variation but a wider temperature range, and sleep behavior was not affected. These experiments delineate distinct preoptic sites with primary effects on the regulation of NREM sleep, REM sleep, and body temperature.  (+info)

Successful radiofrequency catheter ablation of incessant ventricular tachycardia with a delta wave-like beginning of the QRS complex. (6/156)

Ventricular tachycardia with a delta wave-like beginning of the QRS complex is considered to be refractory to endocardial catheter ablation because it originates from the epicardial region. A 45-year-old woman had incessant ventricular tachycardia with a delta wave-like beginning of the QRS complex which was resistant to several antiarrhythmic drugs. The origin of the arrhythmia was at the mitral annulus on the antero-lateral left ventricular wall. The earliest endocardial activation preceded the QRS complex by 18 msec. After 7 sec of endocardial radiofrequency application ventricular tachycardia was terminated. During a 2 year follow-up ventricular tachycardia did not recur and only small numbers of premature ventricular contractions (< 100/day) were noted. VT with delta wave-like QRS morphology which originates from the basal region of the ventricle may be treated successfully with radiofrequency catheter ablation using an endocardial approach.  (+info)

Effects of bilateral microinjections of ibotenic acid in the thalamic reticular nucleus on delta oscillations and sleep in freely-moving rats. (7/156)

The thalamic reticular nucleus (NRT) consists of a large pool of GABAergic neurons located on each side on the anterior, lateral, and ventral surfaces of the dorsal thalamus. The NRT is divided up into sectors. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of bilateral lesions of the NRT on sleep and sleep oscillations. Only the results concerning delta oscillations will be reported here. As a first step we produced stereotaxically placed electrolytic lesions. The rats presented continuous circling behavior with electroencephalographic (EEG) theta and delta activity and subsequent sudden death. To avoid disruption of the bundles of fibers that pass through the NRT to and from the cerebral cortex, we used the excitotoxic ibotenic acid. Given its high toxicity, we concentrated on the rostral pole of the NRT, which is believed to have powerful effects on the synchronization of oscillatory activity during sleep. Immediately after surgery, the rats fell into a deep sleep during which there was an increase in EEG slow-wave activity and no spindles. On postoperative day 2, corresponding to the destruction period, the sleep/wake cycle partially recovered, but NREM sleep was quantitatively diminished and showed abnormalities (increased latency to sleep onset, sleep fragmentation, gradual elimination of the delta rhythm). It is concluded that the rostral pole of the NRT contributes to normal and pathological EEG synchronization and the organization of sleep in rats.  (+info)

The homeostatic regulation of sleep need is under genetic control. (8/156)

Delta power, a measure of EEG activity in the 1-4 Hz range, in slow-wave sleep (SWS) is in a quantitative and predictive relationship with prior wakefulness. Thus, sleep loss evokes a proportional increase in delta power, and excess sleep a decrease. Therefore, delta power is thought to reflect SWS need and its underlying homeostatically regulated recovery process. The neurophysiological substrate of this process is unknown and forward genetics might help elucidate the nature of what is depleted during wakefulness and recovered during SWS. We applied a mathematical method that quantifies the relationship between the sleep-wake distribution and delta power to sleep data of six inbred mouse strains. The results demonstrated that the rate at which SWS need accumulated varied greatly with genotype. This conclusion was confirmed in a "dose-response" study of sleep loss and changes in delta power; delta power strongly depended on both the duration of prior wakefulness and genotype. We followed the segregation of the rebound of delta power after sleep deprivation in 25 BXD recombinant inbred strains by quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis. One "significant" QTL was identified on chromosome 13 that accounted for 49% of the genetic variance in this trait. Interestingly, the rate at which SWS need decreases did not vary with genotype in any of the 31 inbred strains studied. These results demonstrate, for the first time, that the increase of SWS need is under a strong genetic control, and they provide a basis for identifying genes underlying SWS homeostasis.  (+info)

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