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Optogenetic Manipulation of Neural Circuits During Monitoring Sleep/wakefulness States in Mice
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Basal forebrain circuit for sleep-wake control.

Min Xu1, Shinjae Chung1, Siyu Zhang1

  • 1Division of Neurobiology, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA.

Nature Neuroscience
|October 13, 2015
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers mapped the basal forebrain circuit controlling sleep and wakefulness. They found specific neuron types promote wake or non-REM sleep, revealing a hierarchical organization for sleep-wake control.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Sleep Science
  • Circuitry

Background:

  • The mammalian basal forebrain (BF) is crucial for regulating sleep and wakefulness.
  • The precise neural circuits governing these states in the BF are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the neural circuit organization of the mammalian basal forebrain (BF) for sleep-wake control.
  • To identify the roles of genetically defined cell types within the BF in regulating sleep and wakefulness.

Main Methods:

  • Recording and optogenetically perturbing four genetically defined cell types in the BF across sleep-wake cycles.
  • Comprehensively mapping synaptic connections between these BF cell types.

Main Results:

  • Cholinergic, glutamatergic, and parvalbumin-positive (PV+) GABAergic neurons are active during wake/REM sleep and promote wakefulness upon activation.
  • Somatostatin-positive (SOM+) GABAergic neurons promote non-REM sleep.
  • Wake-promoting neurons exhibit hierarchical excitatory connections (glutamatergic→cholinergic→PV+) and receive inhibitory input from SOM+ neurons.

Conclusions:

  • The study reveals the fundamental organization of the basal forebrain circuit for sleep-wake regulation.
  • Identifies distinct roles for specific BF cell types in promoting either wakefulness or non-REM sleep.