D'Olimpio F, Renzi P
Dipartimento di Psicologia, Universitá La Sapienza, Roma, Italy.
Physiol Behav. 1998 Jul;64(5):697-701. doi: 10.1016/s0031-9384(98)00122-x.
Basic Rest-Activity Cycle (BRAC) rhythmicity has been shown in many parameters in animals as well as in humans. A similarity between the periods of BRAC and REM/NREM cycles has been frequently reported. However, this does not necessarily prove the idea that BRAC is a diurnal extension of the REM/NREM cycle. A concurrent variation of the BRAC and REM/NREM cycles during ontogenetic development would confirm the link between these rhythms. For this purpose, we investigated the existence of a BRAC periodicity in young (23 days of life) and adult (90 days of life) mice, in comparison with the REM/NREM species-specific cycle. Reaction times of the avoidance response to a visual warning stimulus that preceded an electric shock were measured by a computer-controlled shuttle-box. Results revealed the existence of an evident ultradian rhythm in all subjects confirming previous reports of a 20-min BRAC in avoidance behavior of adult mice. Furthermore, young mice showed a shorter periodicity of about 9 min, which is analogous to their 10-min REM/NREM cycle. These results seem to confirm the hypothesis of a strong relationship between BRAC and REM/NREM sleep cycle.
基础休息 - 活动周期（BRAC）节律已在动物和人类的许多参数中得到体现。BRAC周期与快速眼动/非快速眼动（REM/NREM）周期之间的相似性屡有报道。然而，这并不一定能证明BRAC是REM/NREM周期的昼夜延伸这一观点。在个体发育过程中BRAC和REM/NREM周期的同步变化将证实这些节律之间的联系。为此，我们研究了幼鼠（出生23天）和成年鼠（出生90天）中BRAC周期性的存在情况，并与REM/NREM物种特异性周期进行比较。通过计算机控制的穿梭箱测量电击前视觉警告刺激的回避反应的反应时间。结果显示所有受试者中均存在明显的超日节律，证实了之前关于成年小鼠回避行为中20分钟BRAC的报道。此外，幼鼠表现出约9分钟的较短周期，这与其10分钟的REM/NREM周期相似。这些结果似乎证实了BRAC与REM/NREM睡眠周期之间存在密切关系的假设。
