[Histochemical determination of RNA and protein in the brain during primary sleep in the frog Rana temporaria and during intermediate sleep in the turtle Emys orbicularis].

It has been shown that resting forms of the primary sleep in the frog and intermediate sleep in the tortoise (P-1, P-2 and P-3) differ from each other with respect to neurochemical characteristics. Cytospectrophotometric studies reveal the increase in the content (per one cell) and concentration of total protein and RNA in cells of the preoptic nuclei of the frog only during one of the resting forms of the primary sleep (P-3), which represents functional homologue of the intermediate sleep of reptiles and sleep of homoiothermic animals. These anabolic changes were not observed during two other resting forms of the primary sleep, this finding being consistent with divergent development of resting forms of the primary sleep in evolution of vertebrates.