Cortico-pontine theta synchronization phase shift following monoaminergic lesion in rat

The experiments were performed in 14 adult, male Sprague Dawley rats chronically instrumented for sleep recording and recorded during baseline condition, following sham injection (saline i.p. 1 ml/kg), and every week for 5 weeks following injection of the systemic neurotoxins (DSP-4 or PCA; 1 ml/kg, i.p.) for chemical axotomy of the locus coeruleus (LC) and dorsal raphe (DR) axon terminals. In our former study we demonstrated that the systemically induced lesion of the noradrenergic or serotonergic axon terminals did not affect the sleep-wake distribution from control condition. In this study, by using spectral analysis and phase shift spectra of the cortical and pontine EEG we analyzed cortico-pontine theta oscillation synchronization phase shift on 6-hour recordings in control condition and 28 days following the monoaminergic lesions, as a time for permanently established DR or LC chemical axotomy. Our results demonstrated for the first time that chronically decreased brain monoamines in freely moving rats changed cortico-pontine theta synchronization phase shift. Pons became a leading theta oscillator. We assume that deficit of monoamines induced predominance of the NREM/REM transitions, characterized with phasic theta oscillations (the increased density of clustered P waves which intrinsic frequency corresponds to theta frequency oscillations), and may produced preceding phasic theta versus tonic theta oscillation drive.