Koehl Muriel, Battle Sally E, Turek Fred W
Department of Neurobiology and Physiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208 USA.
Sleep. 2003 May 1;26(3):267-72. doi: 10.1093/sleep/26.3.267.
Studying inbred strains of mice has proven useful in uncovering genetic variation in the expression of sleep patterns. However, although genetic influence on many behaviors has been shown to be gender specific, to date, sleep patterns in different strains of female mice have not been reported. In order to perform such studies in female mice, the estrous cycle must be taken into account in view of the effects of reproductive hormones on sleep. The aim of this study was thus to determine sleep patterns in female mice of different inbred strains over the estrous cycle.
Three strains of mice were used. Vaginal smears were performed to determine the estrous cycle stage; electroencephalographic and electromyographic activity, as well as body temperature and locomotor activity collected during a full estrous cycle, were analyzed.
We report a major impact of the genetic background in the regulation of non-rapid eye movement sleep over a 24-hour period and clear strain differences in rapid eye movement sleep distribution over the light-dark cycle. In contrast, the estrous cycle had less influence on non-rapid eye movement sleep and rapid eye movement sleep, and these effects were dependent on the genotype of the mice.
Sleep regulation in female mice is influenced primarily by genetic background and, to a lesser extent, by hormonal variations associated with the estrous cycle.
对近交系小鼠的研究已证明有助于揭示睡眠模式表达中的基因变异。然而，尽管已表明基因对许多行为的影响具有性别特异性，但迄今为止，尚未报道过不同品系雌性小鼠的睡眠模式。为了在雌性小鼠中进行此类研究，鉴于生殖激素对睡眠的影响，必须考虑发情周期。因此，本研究的目的是确定不同近交系雌性小鼠在发情周期中的睡眠模式。
使用了三个品系的小鼠。通过阴道涂片确定发情周期阶段；分析了在一个完整发情周期中收集的脑电图和肌电图活动，以及体温和运动活动。
我们报告了基因背景对24小时内非快速眼动睡眠调节的主要影响，以及在明暗周期中快速眼动睡眠分布的明显品系差异。相比之下，发情周期对非快速眼动睡眠和快速眼动睡眠的影响较小，且这些影响取决于小鼠的基因型。
雌性小鼠的睡眠调节主要受基因背景影响，在较小程度上受与发情周期相关的激素变化影响。
