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Updated: Jul 10, 2026
Establishing a Device for Sleep Deprivation in Mice
Published on: September 22, 2023
Sleep apneas are increased in mice lacking monoamine oxidase A
Caroline Real1, Daniela Popa, Isabelle Seif
1Univ Paris-Sud, EA3544, Châtenay-Malabry Cedex, F-92296, Sérotonine et Neuropharmacologie, France. cprenat@noos.fr
Study Objectives:
Alterations in the serotonin (5-HT) system have been suggested as a mechanism of sleep apnea in humans and rodents. The objective is to evaluate the contribution of 5-HT to this disorder.
Design:
We studied sleep and breathing (whole-body plethysmography) in mutant mice that lack monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) and have increased concentrations of monoamines, including 5-HT.
Measurements And Results:
Compared to wild-type mice, the mutants showed similar amounts of slow wave sleep (SWS) and rapid eye movement sleep (REMS), but exhibited a 3-fold increase in SWS and REMS apnea indices. Acute administration of the MAOA inhibitor clorgyline decreased REMS amounts and increased the apnea index in wild-type but not mutant mice. Parachlorophenylalanine, a 5-HT synthesis inhibitor, reduced whole brain concentrations of 5-HT in both strains, and induced a decrease in apnea index in mutant but not wild-type mice.
Conclusion:
Our results show that MAOA deficiency is associated with increased sleep apnea in mice and suggest that an acute or chronic excess of 5-HT contributes to this phenotype.
