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Updated: Mar 2, 2026

Quantifying Infra-slow Dynamics of Spectral Power and Heart Rate in Sleeping Mice
Published on: August 2, 2017
Brainstem regulation of slow-wave-sleep
Christelle Anaclet1, Patrick M Fuller2
1Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, United States; Department of Neurobiology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, United States.
Abstract:
Recent work has helped reconcile puzzling results from brainstem transection studies first performed over 60 years ago, which suggested the existence of a sleep-promoting system in the medullary brainstem. It was specifically shown that GABAergic neurons located in the medullary brainstem parafacial zone (PZGABA) are not only necessary for normal slow-wave-sleep (SWS) but that their selective activation is sufficient to induce SWS in behaving animals. In this review we discuss early experimental findings that inspired the hypothesis that the caudal brainstem contained SWS-promoting circuitry. We then describe the discovery of the SWS-promoting PZGABA and discuss future experimental priorities.
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