PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, v.109, no.50, pp.20673 - 20678
Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
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 ofNREMsleep. 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.