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Chapter Four - Characteristics of REM and NREM Sleep

from Part I - Sleep

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2023

Patrick McNamara
Patrick McNamara
Affiliation:
Boston University School of Medicine
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Summary

If we want to know about the neurobiology of sleep, we need to very briefly summarize the main features of the neurobiology of wakefulness. In Figure 4.1 the main components of the networks that activate and maintain wakefulness are diagrammed. Two major pathways are shown in Figure 4.1. One (in yellow), rooted in the ascending reticular activating system (ARAS), shows that activating impulses ascend from ARAS via the via the thalamic-relay nuclei as well as reticular nucleus of the thalamus. This input is coming from acetylcholine (ACh)-producing neuronal groups, which are located in the Pedunculopontine and laterodorsal tegmental (PPT/LDT) nuclei of brainstem. The second major group of neurons (in red) are located in noradrenergic (NA) locus coeruleus (LC), serotoninergic (5-HT) dorsal and median raphe nuclei, dopaminergic (DA) periaqueductal gray matter (vPAG), and histaminergic (His) tuberomamillary neurons (TMN). The largely cholinergic groups are in mutual inhibitory balance with the large aminergic sertoniergic/noradrenergic groups. Additional cortical input also originates from the GABA or Ach neurotransmitter containing basal forebrain (BF) neurons as well as from lateral hypothalamic (LH) peptidergic neurons that contain the melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) or orexin (hypocretin) (ORX).

Type
Chapter
Information
The Neuroscience of Sleep and Dreams , pp. 70 - 84
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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References

Further Reading

Clawson, B. C., Durkin, J, & Aton, S. J. (2016). Form and function of sleep spindles across the lifespan. Neural Plasticity, 1–16. doi: 10.1155/2016/6936381.Google Scholar
Halász, P., Bódizs, R., Parrino, L., & Terzano, M. (2014). Two features of sleep slow waves: Homeostatic and reactive aspects: From long term to instant sleep homeostasis. Sleep Medicine, 15(10), 1184–1195. doi: 10.1016/j.sleep.2014.06.006.Google Scholar
Jouvet, M. (1999). The Paradox of Sleep: The Story of Dreaming. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Perogamvrosa, L. And Schwartz, S. (2012). The roles of the reward system in sleep and dreaming. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 36, 1934–1951.Google Scholar

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