REM sleep atonia: from basic background to clinical application
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 30, 2026

Optogenetic Manipulation of Neural Circuits During Monitoring Sleep/wakefulness States in Mice
Published on: June 19, 2019
1Division of Human Ontogeny and Childhood Development, Graduate School, Tokyo Medical & Dental University, Japan. jkohyama.ped@tmd.ac.jp
Abstract:
Muscle tone is profoundly suppressed during rapid-eye-movement sleep (REMS). Two indices that quantify this muscle activity suppression were introduced; the tonic inhibition index (TII) and the phasic inhibition index (PII). TII expresses the shortness of phasic chin muscle activity, and PII indicates the weakness of rapid eye movements-related phasic chin muscle activity loss. TII increased significantly with age, while PII decreased significantly. These chronological changes were concluded to indicate that the activity of the human nervous systems involved in both tonic and phasic inhibition in REMS increases with age. TII was found to reach the adult level at 12.3 years of age, while PII decreased to the adult value at 0.4 years. According to this difference in age between their maturation, the human nervous systems involved in muscle activity suppression during REMS are hypothesized to comprise at least 2 independent systems. TII and PII are also hypothesized to be affected by the activity of the brainstem inhibitory/facilitatory centers, which might be implicated in the control of muscle activity during wakefulness as well.
Related Concept Videos
Narcolepsy
REM Sleep Behavior Disorder
RBD is significantly associated with...
Sleep-Wake Cycles
NREM Sleep
NREM sleep comprises four progressive stages that seamlessly merge:
Nightmares and Night Terrors
Nightmares often...
Sleepwalking and Sleep Talking
Factors that increase the likelihood of sleepwalking include sleep deprivation and alcohol consumption. Contrary to common beliefs, it is safe...
Sedatives and Hypnotics Drugs: Miscellaneous Agents
Melatonin congeners like ramelteon (Rozerem) and tasimelteon (Hetlioz) selectively bind to melatonin receptors (MT1 and MT2) and thus mimic the actions of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep-wake cycles. Tasimelteon is primarily used for non-24-hour sleep-wake disorder, common in blind patients. They are also used to treat conditions like insomnia...

