日本筑波大学国际综合睡眠医学研究所 (WPI-IIIS)Takeshi Sakurai研究组发现，快速眼动 (REM)睡眠是由小鼠基底外侧杏仁核 (BLA)多巴胺 (DA)信号引起的。相关论文于2022年3月4日发表在《科学》杂志上。

他们发现在非快速眼动 (NREM)睡眠期间BLA中DA的短暂增加会终止 NREM 睡眠并启动 REM 睡眠。DA 作用于 BLA 中表达多巴胺受体 D2 (Drd2) 的神经元，以诱导 NREM 到 REM 的转变。这种机制还在发作性睡病发作中发挥作用。这些结果显示了 BLA 中 DA 信号在启动 REM 睡眠中的关键作用，并为睡眠周期的产生提供了神经元基础。

据了解，睡眠周期的特点是交替进行NREM和REM睡眠。产生此循环的机制尚不完全清楚。

附：英文原文

Title: Rapid eye movement sleep is initiated by basolateral amygdala dopamine signaling in mice

Author: Emi Hasegawa, Ai Miyasaka, Katsuyasu Sakurai, Yoan Cherasse, Yulong Li, Takeshi Sakurai

Issue&Volume: 2022-03-04

Abstract: The sleep cycle is characterized by alternating non–rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleeps. The mechanisms by which this cycle is generated are incompletely understood. We found that a transient increase of dopamine (DA) in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) during NREM sleep terminates NREM sleep and initiates REM sleep. DA acts on dopamine receptor D2 (Drd2)–expressing neurons in the BLA to induce the NREM-to-REM transition. This mechanism also plays a role in cataplectic attacks—a pathological intrusion of REM sleep into wakefulness—in narcoleptics. These results show a critical role of DA signaling in the BLA in initiating REM sleep and provide a neuronal basis for sleep cycle generation.

DOI: abl6618

Source: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abl6618