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Chapter 9 - Astroglial regulation of sleep

from Section 2 - Geneticsof sleep and circadian rhythms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 November 2013

By
Marcos G. Frank
Edited by
Paul Shaw ,
Mehdi Tafti  and
Michael J. Thorpy
Paul Shaw
Affiliation:
University of Washington, St Louis
Mehdi Tafti
Affiliation:
University of Lausanne
Michael J. Thorpy
Affiliation:
Sleep-Wake Disorders Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York
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Summary

The principal classes of glia in the mature brain are astrocytes, microglia and oligodendrocytes. According to the Benington-Heller hypothesis, astrocytic glycogen, which acts as a reserve glucose store for neurons, is depleted during wakefulness and restored during non-rapid-eye-movement (NREM) sleep. Cerebral microglia and oligodendrocytes cells secrete a number of substances in vitro known to influence sleep or brain activity in sleep. As sleep deprivation is associated with an increase in markers of cellular stress, it has been proposed that substances secreted by microglia may play a central role in sleep regulation. An important future area of investigation is to determine the anatomic locations where glial cells exert their effects on sleep and/or brain activity. Glia is dispersed widely in subcortical and cortical brain areas including regions known to trigger sleep and wakefulness. Astrocytic adenosine is likely to be a key mediator of sleep behavior and brain activity.

Keywords

narcolepsyrestless leg syndromegenome-wide association studygenomicslinkage mappingsleep disorderscomplex phenotypesfamilial advanced sleepphase syndromegenetics
Type
Chapter
Information
The Genetic Basis of Sleep and Sleep Disorders , pp. 84 - 90
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2013

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