Effects of uniform rocking motion on VLPO regional GABA/Glu contents and sleep in rats

Recent research has found that rocking promotes sleep in mice, but there is a lack of information on whether rocking also promotes sleep in rats and the neurophysiological mechanisms involved. The purpose of the present experiment was to elucidate the effects of rocking on sleep-wake staging in rats. EEG recordings were made on a platform with a frequency of 1.5 HZ and a displacement of 20 mm for 12 h of rocking and 12 h of stillness in rats, and the proportion of each sleep phase in the 24-h EEG was analyzed. The contents of glutamate and GABA in the VLPO region of rats were measured during shaking. The results showed that at a shaking frequency of 1.5 HZ, the proportion of non-rapid eye movement (REM) sleep increased and wakefulness decreased in the first 12 h of the rats, and there was no significant effect in the last 12 h. In the experiments, GABA levels in the VLPO region of awake rats gradually increased after the onset of uniform rocking exercise and began to decrease after reaching a peak at 20 min. After 40 min, GABA levels leveled off and did not change significantly above 60 min, but had no effect on glutamate levels. These results suggest that 1.5 HZ of rocking promotes NREM sleep and reduces wakefulness in rats, and that rocking may be related to GABAergic neurons in promoting sleep in rats.