Abstract
Sleep spindles are rhythmic patterns of neuronal activity generated within the thalamocortical circuit. Although spindles have been hypothesized to protect sleep by reducing the influence of external stimuli, it remains to be confirmed experimentally whether there is a direct relationship between sleep spindles and the stability of sleep. We have addressed this issue by using in vivo photostimulation of the thalamic reticular nucleus of mice to generate spindle oscillations that are structurally and functionally similar to spontaneous sleep spindles. Such optogenetic generation of sleep spindles increased the duration of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. Furthermore, the density of sleep spindles was correlated with the amount of NREM sleep. These findings establish a causal relationship between sleep spindles and the stability of NREM sleep, strongly supporting a role for the thalamocortical circuit in sleep regulation.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 20673-20678 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
| Volume | 109 |
| Issue number | 50 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2012 Dec 11 |
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Optogenetically induced sleep spindle rhythms alter sleep architectures in mice. / Kim, Angela; Latchoumane, Charles; Lee, Soojung; Kim, Guk Bae; Cheong, Eunji; Augustine, George J.; Shin, Hee Sup.
In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 109, No. 50, 11.12.2012, p. 20673-20678.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Optogenetically induced sleep spindle rhythms alter sleep architectures in mice
AU - Kim, Angela
AU - Latchoumane, Charles
AU - Lee, Soojung
AU - Kim, Guk Bae
AU - Cheong, Eunji
AU - Augustine, George J.
AU - Shin, Hee Sup
PY - 2012/12/11
Y1 - 2012/12/11
N2 - Sleep spindles are rhythmic patterns of neuronal activity generated within the thalamocortical circuit. Although spindles have been hypothesized to protect sleep by reducing the influence of external stimuli, it remains to be confirmed experimentally whether there is a direct relationship between sleep spindles and the stability of sleep. We have addressed this issue by using in vivo photostimulation of the thalamic reticular nucleus of mice to generate spindle oscillations that are structurally and functionally similar to spontaneous sleep spindles. Such optogenetic generation of sleep spindles increased the duration of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. Furthermore, the density of sleep spindles was correlated with the amount of NREM sleep. These findings establish a causal relationship between sleep spindles and the stability of NREM sleep, strongly supporting a role for the thalamocortical circuit in sleep regulation.
AB - Sleep spindles are rhythmic patterns of neuronal activity generated within the thalamocortical circuit. Although spindles have been hypothesized to protect sleep by reducing the influence of external stimuli, it remains to be confirmed experimentally whether there is a direct relationship between sleep spindles and the stability of sleep. We have addressed this issue by using in vivo photostimulation of the thalamic reticular nucleus of mice to generate spindle oscillations that are structurally and functionally similar to spontaneous sleep spindles. Such optogenetic generation of sleep spindles increased the duration of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. Furthermore, the density of sleep spindles was correlated with the amount of NREM sleep. These findings establish a causal relationship between sleep spindles and the stability of NREM sleep, strongly supporting a role for the thalamocortical circuit in sleep regulation.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84874436363&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84874436363&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1073/pnas.1217897109
DO - 10.1073/pnas.1217897109
M3 - Article
C2 - 23169668
AN - SCOPUS:84874436363
VL - 109
SP - 20673
EP - 20678
JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
SN - 0027-8424
IS - 50
ER -