Since its discovery in 1953, REM sleep has been found to be almost universal among mammalian species. It is present in primates, ungulates, seals, carnivores, marsupials, insectivores, bats, rodents, cetaceans and other orders. The only animal with a well documented absence of REM sleep is the short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus). The short beaked echidna is one of only 3 existing species of monotreme. The other two monotreme species are the closely related long beaked echidna (Zaglossus bruijni) and the ancient duck billed platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus). Monotremes diverged from the line that led to placental and marsupial mammals 130 million years ago. The living monotremes have been shown to retain many characteristics of species ancestral to modern mammalian orders. They offer a unique opportunity to make inferences about the evolution of sleep. There has only been one study of echidna sleep, Allison et al.'s pioneering 1972 investigation. There have been no investigations of sleep in the platypus. We propose to determine whether the platypus has REM sleep. We will determine if the reported absence of REM sleep in the echidna is accompanied by a normal appearance of nonREM sleep activity patterns in brainstem neurons. We will monitor brainstem unit activity in the echidna to determine if any aspects of REM sleep are present in the cell groups known to change activity during this state. We will determine if locus coeruleus and raphe cells are silent during sleep or waking. We will determine if pontine units fire in a bursting pattern during sleep. We will map the distribution of cholinergic and aminergic cell groups in the brainstem of the echidna and platypus to determine how they differ from non-monotreme mammals. The Preliminary Data section demonstrates that we have overcome the technical and availability problems that have prevented the study of monotreme sleep. The function and origin of REM sleep remain the central questions of sleep research. REM sleep processes are likely to be involved in narcolepsy, the sudden infant death syndrome, depression, REM behavior disorder and other diseases. An understanding of how this state evolved would be of central importance to any comprehensive understanding of normal and pathological sleep state organization.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01NS032819-02
Application #
2271267
Study Section
Biopsychology Study Section (BPO)
Project Start
1994-08-01
Project End
1997-07-31
Budget Start
1995-08-01
Budget End
1996-07-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
1995
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California Los Angeles
Department
Type
Other Domestic Higher Education
DUNS #
119132785
City
Los Angeles
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
90095
Manger, Paul R; Fuxe, Kjell; Ridgway, Sam H et al. (2004) The distribution and morphological characteristics of catecholaminergic cells in the diencephalon and midbrain of the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). Brain Behav Evol 64:42-60
Manger, P R; Fahringer, H M; Pettigrew, J D et al. (2002) The distribution and morphological characteristics of serotonergic cells in the brain of monotremes. Brain Behav Evol 60:315-32
Manger, P R; Fahringer, H M; Pettigrew, J D et al. (2002) The distribution and morphological characteristics of cholinergic cells in the brain of monotremes as revealed by ChAT immunohistochemistry. Brain Behav Evol 60:275-97
Manger, P R; Fahringer, H M; Pettigrew, J D et al. (2002) The distribution and morphological characteristics of catecholaminergic cells in the brain of monotremes as revealed by tyrosine hydroxylase immunohistochemistry. Brain Behav Evol 60:298-314
Lyamin, O I; Mukhametov, L M; Siegel, J M et al. (2002) Unihemispheric slow wave sleep and the state of the eyes in a white whale. Behav Brain Res 129:125-9
Eiland, M M; Lyamin, O I; Siegel, J M (2001) State-related discharge of neurons in the brainstem of freely moving box turtles, Terrapene carolina major. Arch Ital Biol 139:23-36
Lyamin, O I; Manger, P R; Mukhametov, L M et al. (2000) Rest and activity states in a gray whale. J Sleep Res 9:261-7
Siegel, J M; Manger, P R; Nienhuis, R et al. (1999) Sleep in the platypus. Neuroscience 91:391-400
Siegel, J M; Manger, P R; Nienhuis, R et al. (1998) Monotremes and the evolution of rapid eye movement sleep. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 353:1147-57
Siegel, J M; Manger, P R; Nienhuis, R et al. (1996) The echidna Tachyglossus aculeatus combines REM and non-REM aspects in a single sleep state: implications for the evolution of sleep. J Neurosci 16:3500-6

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