Foley Jeannine, Blutstein Tamara, Lee SoYoung, Erneux Christophe, Halassa Michael M, Haydon Philip
Department of Neuroscience, Tufts University, Boston MA, USA.
Institut de Recherche Interdisciplinaire en Biologie Humaine et Moléculaire, Université Libre de Bruxelles Brussels, Belgium.
Front Neural Circuits. 2017 Jan 23;11:3. doi: 10.3389/fncir.2017.00003. eCollection 2017.
Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep onset is triggered by disinhibition of cholinergic neurons in the pons. During REM sleep, the brain exhibits prominent activity in the 5-8 Hz (theta) frequency range. How REM sleep onset and theta waves are regulated is poorly understood. Astrocytes, a non-neuronal cell type in the brain, respond to cholinergic signals by elevating their intracellular Ca concentration. The goal of this study was to assess the sleep architecture of mice with attenuated IP mediated Ca signaling in astrocytes. Vigilance states and cortical electroencephalograph power were measured in wild type mice and mice with attenuated IP/Ca signaling. Attenuating IP/Ca signaling specifically in astrocytes caused mice to spend more time in REM sleep and enter this state more frequently during their inactive phase. These mice also exhibited greater power in the theta frequency range. These data suggest a role for astrocytic IP/Ca signaling in modulating REM sleep and the associated physiological state of the cortex.
快速眼动（REM）睡眠的开始是由脑桥中胆碱能神经元的去抑制触发的。在快速眼动睡眠期间，大脑在5-8赫兹（θ）频率范围内表现出显著的活动。快速眼动睡眠的开始和θ波是如何调节的，目前还知之甚少。星形胶质细胞是大脑中的一种非神经元细胞类型，通过提高细胞内钙浓度来响应胆碱能信号。本研究的目的是评估星形胶质细胞中IP介导的钙信号减弱的小鼠的睡眠结构。在野生型小鼠和IP/钙信号减弱的小鼠中测量了警觉状态和皮质脑电图功率。特异性地减弱星形胶质细胞中的IP/钙信号会使小鼠在快速眼动睡眠中花费更多时间，并且在非活动期更频繁地进入这种状态。这些小鼠在θ频率范围内也表现出更大的功率。这些数据表明星形胶质细胞IP/钙信号在调节快速眼动睡眠和皮质相关生理状态中起作用。
