Mammals experience rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM (NREM) sleep. While the hypothalamus and brainstem are known to be a critical regulators of sleep, the precise mechanism is not fully understood. New work in mice has found that a widely distributed network of neurotensinergic neurons regulates NREM sleep, which also implicates a critical role of the neuropeptide neurotensin.
A normal sleep architecture is crucial for physical and cognitive health, and disruption of REM/NREM sleep can therefore have serious consequences. While several brain areas including the hypothalamus are known to be essential for NREM sleep, comparatively little is known about how the brainstem controls NREM sleep.
Previous work has found that a subregion of the brainstem, the sublaterodorsal tegmental nucleus (SubLDT), regulates both REM and NREM sleep. Researchers therefore targeted this area to identify NREM sleep-promoting neurons, and found that a wide network of neurotensin-producing neurons is involved in NREM sleep regulation. The article was published in Current Biology.
"Using microarray analyses, we measured the expression levels of several genes in the mouse SubLDT," says the last author of the study. "A subset of these SubLDT neurons had a high, selective expression of the gene Nts, which encodes the neuropeptide neurotensin. Artificial activation of these SubLDT neurons promoted NREM sleep, which confirmed the role of Nts-expressing neurons in NREM sleep."
NREM sleep-promoting neurons were also found in three other brainstem structures that have not previously been proven to be involved in sleep regulation (the dorsal deep mesencephalic nucleus, periaqueductal gray, and medial vestibular nucleus). Neurons in these regions also expressed Nts. Furthermore, direct administration of neurotensin itself induced NREM sleep-like brain activity.
"Our findings not only provide insights about brainstem involvement in NREM sleep promotion, but also highlight the key role of neurotensin," says the first author. "It will be interesting to see whether Nts-expressing neurons contribute to the co-ordination between sleep and other known functions of neurotensin signaling, such as pain and metabolism. The response of Nts-expressing neurons also differed according to the time of day, so the influence of the circadian rhythm on these neurons should be studied."
More broadly, these results could tell us something about the evolution of the complex sleep architecture of mammals. Future work could examine whether similar Nts¬-expressing neurons are also present in vertebrates, which do not experience REM and NREM sleep.
https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(20)30091-9
The neurotensinergic neurons in the brainstem regulate non-REM sleep
- 1,299 views
- Added
Edited
Latest News
More influence of environme…
By newseditor
Posted 24 Apr
The assembly of the human c…
By newseditor
Posted 24 Apr
Wiring of the human neocortex
By newseditor
Posted 24 Apr
Abusive drugs hijack natura…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Apr
Mechanism of action of the…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Apr
Other Top Stories
Copper is key in burning fat
Read more
How altered gut microbes cause obesity
Read more
Receptor in nasal cavity may be linked to preference for high-fat food
Read more
Signaling molecules can make neuronal extensions retract at a distance
Read more
Hunger' neurons in the brain are regulated by protein activated dur…
Read more
Protocols
A programmable targeted pro…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Apr
MemPrep, a new technology f…
By newseditor
Posted 08 Apr
A tangible method to assess…
By newseditor
Posted 08 Apr
Stem cell-derived vessels-o…
By newseditor
Posted 06 Apr
Single-cell biclustering fo…
By newseditor
Posted 01 Apr
Publications
Distinct genetic and enviro…
By newseditor
Posted 24 Apr
Hippocampus-to-amygdala pat…
By newseditor
Posted 24 Apr
Integrative spatial analysi…
By newseditor
Posted 24 Apr
Time-series reconstruction…
By newseditor
Posted 24 Apr
Harnessing gastrointestinal…
By newseditor
Posted 24 Apr
Presentations
Hydrogels in Drug Delivery
By newseditor
Posted 12 Apr
Lipids
By newseditor
Posted 31 Dec
Cell biology of carbohydrat…
By newseditor
Posted 29 Nov
RNA interference (RNAi)
By newseditor
Posted 23 Oct
RNA structure and functions
By newseditor
Posted 19 Oct
Posters
A chemical biology/modular…
By newseditor
Posted 22 Aug
Single-molecule covalent ma…
By newseditor
Posted 04 Jul
ASCO-2020-HEALTH SERVICES R…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-HEAD AND NECK CANCER
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-GENITOURINARY CAN…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar