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Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Polygraphic Recording Procedure for Measuring Sleep in Mice
Published on: January 25, 2016
Changes in pontine muscarinic receptor binding during sleep-waking states in the rat
1Istituto di Chimica Biologica, Università di Pisa, Italy.
Abstract:
Number and affinity of pontine muscarinic receptors were examined in rats sacrificed during polygraphically defined wakefulness (W), synchronized sleep (S) and desynchronized sleep (D). Saturation binding assays with (-)-[3H]quinuclidinyl benzilate [( 3H]QNB) showed that muscarinic receptor levels were higher in W and D than in S. These findings indicate that brain receptor levels may change in relation to sleep-waking states. The significance of such changes in relation to the time course of sleep-waking states, as well as the possibility that the number of pontine muscarinic receptors plays a role in the triggering of D are discussed.
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