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circadian rhythms. Basic Neuroscience NBL 120 (2008). biological clocks & sleep. self-sustained biological oscillators importance? where is the clock? how does the clock work? how is the clock adjusted? patterns of sleep REM versus non-REM mechanisms. self-sustained pacemakers.
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circadian rhythms Basic Neuroscience NBL 120 (2008)
biological clocks & sleep • self-sustained biological oscillators • importance? • where is the clock? • how does the clock work? • how is the clock adjusted? • patterns of sleep • REM versus non-REM • mechanisms
self-sustained pacemakers • a master clock enables the organism to regulate a variety of behaviors at appropriate times during the day • e.g., upregulation of metabolic pathways before meals
main features of rhythms • self-sustained • i.e., free-running • cycle = 24 hrs • entrained by external cues • e.g., light wake-sleep
general organization circadian pacemaker photoreceptor Clock overt rhythms entrainment pathways output pathways
where is the clock? • anterior hypothalamus • above the optic chiasm • each ~ 10,000 neurons
SCN is necessary…… rest-activity • SCN ablation: • results in a loss of circadian rhythms
…and sufficient • fast-running mutant SCN transplant http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/clocks/index.html
SCN neurons are oscillators • Individual SCN neurons: • circadian oscillators (out of phase with each other) • day ≈ 8 Hz • night ≈ 2.5 Hz • coupled to generate a uniform rhythm of electrical firing • GABA acts as a primary synchronizing signal • gap junctions may also play a role in synchronization
What drives the rhythmic firing? • gene cycling • e.g. per (mRNA)
activation-repression loops (Herzog 2007)
animation http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/clocks/animations.html
clock genes drive oscillations • rhythmic electrical activity is driven by the molecular clock • clock gene knockout (Herzog et al., 1998)
electrical oscillation is only output • gene cycling drives electrical rhythm (Welsh et al., 1995)
BK channels….. • ….are the key regulators of firing rate (Meredith et al., 2006)
entrainment • RHT - retinohypothalamic • IGL - intergeniculate leaflet • associated with LGN • driven by Raphe (5HT)
SCN output mechanisms…. • examples…. • temperature regulation • autonomic function • arousal - sleep
sleep characteristics • behavioral criteria • reduced motor activity • decreased response to stimulation • stereotypic posture (lying down/eyes closed) • relatively easily reversible (c.f. coma)
anatomy of sleep-wake cycles • SCN only regulates timing of sleep • brainstem - reticular formations either side of pons • midbrain -> wake • damage = comatose state / reduction in waking • medulla -> sleep • transect above medulla = awake most of time
what makes us sleep? • prior sleep history = best predictor of sleep • C: circadian rhythm (SCN) • S: homeostatic property: • accumulation of sleep-promoting substance (?) • sleep pressure: • vertical distance between the S and C curves
Sleep & Death • record amount of deprivation • in animals……
sleep • a critical behavioral state • purpose? physical versus cognitive rest • an active brain process • electrical activity in the brain changes but does not cease during sleep • multiple cycles of two states
sleep cycles • REM (rapid eye movement) and NREM (non-REM) • states alternate in each cycle • one sleep cycle is about 90 minutes • each successive cycle has longer REM state
sleep stages • EEG (Electroencephalogram) wave form is different in each stage
awake EEG EMG EOG REM EEG EMG EOG REM state: paradoxical sleep
pharmacology of sleep reciprocal interactions • NREM sleep: low ACh, high 5HT & NE • REM sleep: low 5HT or NE, high Ach (pontine tegmentum) • GABA interneurons in thalamus
thalamocortical activity non-REM sleep REM sleep (awake) • no sensory input • synchronized activity disrupts signaling • no motor output • descending brain stem glycinergic inhibition of motor neurons
clinical relevance (too much / little) • Narcolepsy • intrusion of sleep into wakefulness • cataplexy • atonia - loss of muscle tone • abnormal brainstem descending control of motor neuron • Sleep apnea • compromised breathing • decreased skeletal muscle tone • brief sleep arousals to restore tone • REM behavior disorder • violent dream enactment
dreams • unknown - cognitive / memory (?) • both REM and non-REM sleep
“slave” oscillators circadian pacemaker photoreceptor REM- NREM SCN RHT Clock overt rhythms entrainment pathways output pathways Circadian (expanded)