Brainstem regulation of slow-wave-sleep

Christelle Anaclet, Patrick M Fuller
2017 Current Opinion in Neurobiology  
Recent work has helped reconcile puzzling results from brainstem transection studies first performed over 60 years ago, which suggested the existence of a sleep-promoting system in the medullary brainstem. It was specifically shown that GABAergic neurons located in the medullary brainstem parafacial zone (PZ GABA ) are not only necessary for normal slow-wave-sleep (SWS) but that their selective activation is sufficient to induce SWS in behaving animals. In this review we discuss early
more » ... al findings that inspired the hypothesis that the caudal brainstem contained SWS-promoting circuitry. We then describe the discovery of the SWS-promoting PZ GABA and discuss future experimental priorities. Approximately 5 years ago, our group set out to uncover the location and identity of brainstem neurons that might contribute to the regulation of SWS. In doing so, we reasoned that any SWS-promoting brainstem neurons would likely project to and inhibit neurons of the parabrachial nucleus (PB), a cell population that we had previously identified as making an especially important contribution to the maintenance of behavioral and EEG arousal [37] . * the bulbar cooling model was preferred for brainstem-based studies because it helped avoid the contaminating effects of autonomic and respiratory changes, which are typically evoked by stimulation of the medulla. Anaclet and Fuller
doi:10.1016/j.conb.2017.04.004 pmid:28500870 pmcid:PMC5607774 fatcat:3fqfg3k6aveyhi76xryg3htpfy