The hypothalamic link between arousal and sleep homeostasis in mice

Sleep and wakefulness are not simple, homogenous all-or-none states but represent a spectrum of substates, distinguished by behavior, levels of arousal, and brain activity at the local and global levels. Until now, the role of the hypothalamic circuitry in sleep-wake control was studied primarily wi...

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Published inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 118; no. 51
Main Authors Yamagata, Tomoko, Kahn, Martin C, Prius-Mengual, José, Meijer, Elise, Šabanović, Merima, Guillaumin, Mathilde C C, van der Vinne, Vincent, Huang, Yi-Ge, McKillop, Laura E, Jagannath, Aarti, Peirson, Stuart N, Mann, Edward O, Foster, Russell G, Vyazovskiy, Vladyslav V
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States National Academy of Sciences 21.12.2021
Subjects
Animals
Arousal
Biological Sciences
Circuits
Dexmedetomidine
EEG
Electroencephalography
Female
Glutamate Decarboxylase - metabolism
Homeostasis
Hypothalamus
Laboratory animals
Male
Mice
Neurons
Optogenetics
Photoactivation
Photoinhibition
Preoptic area
Preoptic area (lateral)
Preoptic Area - physiology
Sleep
Sleep - physiology
Sleep and wakefulness
Vigilance
Wakefulness
sleep
sleep homeostasis
mice
hypothalamus
arousal
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Summary:Sleep and wakefulness are not simple, homogenous all-or-none states but represent a spectrum of substates, distinguished by behavior, levels of arousal, and brain activity at the local and global levels. Until now, the role of the hypothalamic circuitry in sleep-wake control was studied primarily with respect to its contribution to rapid state transitions. In contrast, whether the hypothalamus modulates within-state dynamics (state "quality") and the functional significance thereof remains unexplored. Here, we show that photoactivation of inhibitory neurons in the lateral preoptic area (LPO) of the hypothalamus of adult male and female laboratory mice does not merely trigger awakening from sleep, but the resulting awake state is also characterized by an activated electroencephalogram (EEG) pattern, suggesting increased levels of arousal. This was associated with a faster build-up of sleep pressure, as reflected in higher EEG slow-wave activity (SWA) during subsequent sleep. In contrast, photoinhibition of inhibitory LPO neurons did not result in changes in vigilance states but was associated with persistently increased EEG SWA during spontaneous sleep. These findings suggest a role of the LPO in regulating arousal levels, which we propose as a key variable shaping the daily architecture of sleep-wake states.
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Author contributions: T.Y., A.J., S.N.P., E.O.M., R.G.F., and V.V.V. designed research; T.Y., M.C.K., J.P.-M., E.M., M.C.C.G., V.v.d.V., Y.-G.H., L.E.M., and E.O.M. performed research; T.Y. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; T.Y., M.C.K., M.Š., and E.O.M. analyzed data; and T.Y., M.C.K., M.C.C.G., V.v.d.V., L.E.M., and V.V.V. wrote the paper.
Edited by Joseph Takahashi, HHMI and Department of Neuroscience, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX; received January 25, 2021; accepted October 21, 2021
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.2101580118