Sleep disturbance produced by electrical stimulation of the locus coeruleus in a human subject

A 25-year-old man with a chronically implanted stimulating electrode placed in the region of the locus coeruleus (LC) was monitored for 5 nights in a sleep laboratory to study the role of the LC in sleep. Sleep patterns were compared between the 2 nights in which the stimulation was applied periodically every 90 min and the 2 nights in which no stimulation was applied. In contrast to the normal sleep patterns that occurred during the 2 nonstimulation nights, electrical stimulation of the LC produced a profound disruption of sleep and significant reductions in the total amounts of NREM sleep, REM sleep, REM sleep as a percent of total sleep (NREM + REM sleep), and total sleep. Results suggest that the LC has a role in maintaining normal sleep patterns.