The human infant sleeps 16 hrs/day, 8 as rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. The amount of REM sleep decreases dramatically from birth until puberty. Our overall hypothesis is that if this developmental decrease in REM sleep does NOT occur, a lifelong increase in REM sleep drive may ensue. Increased REM sleep drive is present in such disorders of hypervigilance as schizophrenia, anxiety disorder and depression, which have a predominantly developmental etiology. The main region controlling arousal and sleep is the reticular activating system (RAS), and the pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN), its cholinergic arm, helps generate REM sleep via its projections to various targets. One target, the SubCoeruleus nucleus (SubC), is known to manifest P-waves, paroxysmal wavefronts of activity thought to lead to the transition from slow wave sleep into REM sleep. The proposed studies will investigate the development of cholinergic input to the SubC, and the ability of the PPN to drive SubC cells during the developmental decrease in REM sleep in the rat, which occurs between 10 and 30 days postnatally. We hypothesize that P-waves may be facilitated by gap Junctions, a mechanism that will be studied for its potential to underlie pathology in this system.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Type
Individual Predoctoral NRSA for M.D./Ph.D. Fellowships (ADAMHA) (F30)
Project #
5F30NS053163-03
Application #
7226961
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-F02A (20))
Program Officer
Mitler, Merrill
Project Start
2005-05-23
Project End
2010-04-30
Budget Start
2007-05-01
Budget End
2008-04-30
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2007
Total Cost
$30,936
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Department
Anatomy/Cell Biology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
122452563
City
Little Rock
State
AR
Country
United States
Zip Code
72205
Heister, David S; Hayar, Abdallah; Garcia-Rill, Edgar (2009) Cholinergic modulation of GABAergic and glutamatergic transmission in the dorsal subcoeruleus: mechanisms for REM sleep control. Sleep 32:1135-47
Garcia-Rill, Edgar; Charlesworth, Amanda; Heister, David et al. (2008) The developmental decrease in REM sleep: the role of transmitters and electrical coupling. Sleep 31:673-90
Garcia-Rill, Edgar; Heister, David S; Ye, Meijun et al. (2007) Electrical coupling: novel mechanism for sleep-wake control. Sleep 30:1405-14