The sleep of cetaceans (the dolphins and toothed whales) has unique properties that may provide important insights into the evolution and function of sleep. Cetacean sleep may also allow us to differentiate between the behavioral roles of the several neurotransmitter systems that have been implicated in sleep and arousal. One of the unusual properties of cetacean sleep is the presence of long periods of """"""""unihemispheric slow wave sleep"""""""" (USWS). A number of species of cetacean have been examined and all have only USWS, i.e. both hemispheres never show high voltage activity at the same time. Another unusual feature of cetacean sleep is the apparent absence or perhaps the near absence of REM sleep. If cetaceans do not have REM sleep, they would be the only mammals lacking this state. In the proposed studies, we will determine the nature of the changes in sensory and motor function during USWS in the bottlenose dolphin and beluga whale. We will present lateralized and not lateralized stimuli of different modalities to dolphins and whales adapted to sleep in stretchers to determine if sensory thresholds are altered ipsilateral and contralateral to USWS. We will measure the release of serotonin, norepinephrine, acetylcholine, and hypocretin bilaterally with cortical microdialysis and determine whether all or any of these transmitters have asymmetrical release during USWS. We will use telemetry and digital recorders to search for evidence of REM sleep in freely swimming cetaceans, monitoring the EEG, EMG, EOG and autonomic signs of REM sleep, including muscle jerks, rapid eye movements, and erections. We will determine whether the """"""""jerks"""""""" that have been observed are signs of REM sleep, arousal or myoclonus. We will search for REM sleep-like periods of reduced monoamine release in dolphins and whales sleeping in stretchers. We will investigate the neuroanatomy of the brainstem and forebrain aminergic, cholinergic and hypocretin cell groups involved in behavioral state control in cetaceans. The proposed studies take advantage of a rapidly vanishing opportunity to study cetacean sleep. They will improve our understanding of the physiological and neurochemical substrates of mammalian sleep.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
1R01NS042947-01A1
Application #
6573462
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-IFCN-3 (01))
Program Officer
Mitler, Merrill
Project Start
2003-09-01
Project End
2007-06-30
Budget Start
2003-09-01
Budget End
2004-06-30
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2003
Total Cost
$295,413
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California Los Angeles
Department
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
092530369
City
Los Angeles
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
90095
Lyamin, Oleg I; Manger, Paul R; Ridgway, Sam H et al. (2008) Cetacean sleep: an unusual form of mammalian sleep. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 32:1451-84
Allada, Ravi; Siegel, Jerome M (2008) Unearthing the phylogenetic roots of sleep. Curr Biol 18:R670-R679
Lyamin, Oleg; Pryaslova, Julia; Kosenko, Peter et al. (2007) Behavioral aspects of sleep in bottlenose dolphin mothers and their calves. Physiol Behav 92:725-33
Lapierre, Jennifer L; Kosenko, Peter O; Lyamin, Oleg I et al. (2007) Cortical acetylcholine release is lateralized during asymmetrical slow-wave sleep in northern fur seals. J Neurosci 27:11999-2006
Lyamin, O I; Mukhametov, L M; Siegel, J M (2004) Relationship between sleep and eye state in Cetaceans and Pinnipeds. Arch Ital Biol 142:557-68
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, Paul R; Ridgway, Sam H; Siegel, Jerome M (2003) The locus coeruleus complex of the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) as revealed by tyrosine hydroxylase immunohistochemistry. J Sleep Res 12:149-55