HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) A corrigendum has been published All Versions of this Article: 95/4/2055    most recent 00575.2005v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (4) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Tamakawa, Y. Articles by Nakao, M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Tamakawa, Y. Articles by Nakao, M.

A Quartet Neural System Model Orchestrating Sleep and Wakefulness Mechanisms

¹Graduate School of Information Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai; and ²Faculty of Symbiotic Systems Science, Fukushima University, Fukushima, Japan

Submitted 3 June 2005; accepted in final form 2 November 2005

Physiological knowledge of the neural mechanisms regulating sleep and wakefulness has been advanced by the recent findings concerning sleep/wakefulness-related preoptic/anterior hypothalamic and perifornical (orexin-containing)/posterior hypothalamic neurons. In this paper, we propose a mathematical model of the mechanisms orchestrating a quartet neural system of sleep and wakefulness composed of the following: 1) sleep-active preoptic/anterior hypothalamic neurons (N-R group); 2) wake-active hypothalamic and brain stem neurons exhibiting the highest rate of discharge during wakefulness and the lowest rate of discharge during paradoxical or rapid eye movement (REM) sleep (WA group); 3) brain stem neurons exhibiting the highest rate of discharge during REM sleep (REM group); and 4) basal forebrain, hypothalamic, and brain stem neurons exhibiting a higher rate of discharge during both wakefulness and REM sleep than during nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep (W-R group). The WA neurons have mutual inhibitory couplings with the REM and N-R neurons. The W-R neurons have mutual excitatory couplings with the WA and REM neurons. The REM neurons receive unidirectional inhibition from the N-R neurons. In addition, the N-R neurons are activated by two types of sleep-promoting substances (SPS), which play different roles in the homeostatic regulation of sleep and wakefulness. The model well reproduces the actual sleep and wakefulness patterns of rats in addition to the sleep-related neuronal activities across state transitions. In addition, human sleep-wakefulness rhythms can be simulated by manipulating only a few model parameters: inhibitions from the N-R neurons to the REM and WA neurons are enhanced, and circadian regulation of the N-R and WA neurons is exaggerated. Our model could provide a novel framework for the quantitative understanding of the mechanisms regulating sleep and wakefulness.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. G. Diniz Behn, N. Kopell, E. N. Brown, T. Mochizuki, and T. E. Scammell Delayed Orexin Signaling Consolidates Wakefulness and Sleep: Physiology and Modeling J Neurophysiol, June 1, 2008; 99(6): 3090 - 3103. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. G. D. Behn, E. N. Brown, T. E. Scammell, and N. J. Kopell Mathematical Model of Network Dynamics Governing Mouse Sleep-Wake Behavior J Neurophysiol, June 1, 2007; 97(6): 3828 - 3840. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A.J.K. Phillips and P.A. Robinson A Quantitative Model of Sleep-Wake Dynamics Based on the Physiology of the Brainstem Ascending Arousal System J Biol Rhythms, April 1, 2007; 22(2): 167 - 179. [Abstract] [PDF]