Related Experiment Videos

REM sleep without atonia after lesions of the medial medulla

E Schenkel1, J M Siegel

  • 1Neurobiology Research, Sepulveda V.A. Medical Center, CA 91343.

Neuroscience Letters
|March 27, 1989
PubMed

Insights

Researchers identified specific brainstem nuclei in the medial medulla that, when lesioned, cause REM sleep without atonia. This suggests these areas are crucial for suppressing muscle tone during REM sleep.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Sleep Science

Background:

  • Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep typically involves muscle atonia.
  • Pontine lesions are known to disrupt this muscle tone suppression, causing REM sleep without atonia.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of medial medullary nuclei in REM sleep muscle atonia.
  • To identify specific brain regions responsible for suppressing muscle tone during REM sleep.

Main Methods:

  • Glutamate-induced lesions were performed in the medial medulla.
  • Specific nuclei targeted included nucleus magnocellularis, caudal nucleus gigantocellularis, and rostral nucleus paramedianus.
  • Muscle tone during REM sleep was assessed in lesioned subjects.

Main Results:

  • Lesions in the medial medulla, specifically targeting nucleus magnocellularis, caudal nucleus gigantocellularis, and rostral nucleus paramedianus, resulted in REM sleep without atonia.
  • This indicates these nuclei play a role in the muscle tone suppression during REM sleep.

Conclusions:

  • The medial medullary nuclei investigated are part of a ponto-medullary system that suppresses muscle tone during REM sleep.
  • These findings advance our understanding of the neural circuitry regulating muscle atonia in REM sleep.

Related Concept Videos