Cardiopulmonary interactions following REM sleep deprivation in Sprague-Dawley rats

We characterized the effects of 48 h of rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep deprivation on cardiovascular and respiratory variables and on sleep-related cardiopulmonary interactions in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. Rats were instrumented for monitoring EEG, EMG, and aortic blood pressure. Respiratory rate and minute ventilation were measured by unrestrained single-chamber plethysmography. By using radiotelemetry to monitor blood pressure we clearly demonstrated progressive decreases in mean blood pressure with transitions from wakefulness to non-rapid-eye-movement and REM sleep which were unaffected by REM sleep deprivation. Mirror-image state-dependent increases in heart period suggest that baroreflexes were augmented during sleep with respect to wakefulness. REM sleep deprivation was also associated with lower blood pressure and longer heart period over all sleep/wake states, although this achieved statistical significance only during REM sleep and only during the first hour of recovery sleep. These cardiovascular changes coupled with the observed decreases in respiratory rate and minute ventilation suggest a further augmentation of baroreflexes following REM sleep deprivation.