瑞士洛桑大学Anita Lüthi研究小组发现，慢波去甲肾上腺素能蓝斑活动波动是NREM–REM周期的守门人。2024年11月25日，《自然—神经科学》杂志在线发表了这项成果。

研究人员展示了在小鼠中，波动的蓝斑（LC）神经元活动将非快速眼动睡眠（NREMS）划分为两种大脑自主状态。这两种状态在大约50秒的周期内调控NREMS–快速眼动睡眠（REMS）周期；高LC活动诱导一种下皮层–自主唤醒状态，促进皮层微唤醒，而低LC活动则是NREMS到REMS过渡所必需的。

这种功能性交替通过在不受干扰的睡眠期间为REMS进入设定许可窗口，从而调节NREMS–REMS周期的持续时间，同时在REMS限制期内将这些进入限制为每大约50秒最多一次。丰富的刺激和促压觉醒与随后的NREMS期间高低LC活动水平较长和较短相关，分别导致FC碰碰胡老虎机法典-提高赢钱机率的下注技巧的微唤醒引起的NREMS碎片化和REMS延迟开始。

研究人员得出结论，LC活动波动是NREMS–REMS周期的守门人，并且这一作用受到不利觉醒经历的影响。

据介绍，去甲肾上腺素能LC在觉醒状态下调节觉醒水平，但其在睡眠中的作用仍不清楚。

附：英文原文

Title: Infraslow noradrenergic locus coeruleus activity fluctuations are gatekeepers of the NREM–REM sleep cycle

Author: Osorio-Forero, Alejandro, Foustoukos, Georgios, Cardis, Romain, Cherrad, Najma, Devenoges, Christiane, Fernandez, Laura M. J., Lthi, Anita

Issue&Volume: 2024-11-25

Abstract: The noradrenergic locus coeruleus (LC) regulates arousal levels during wakefulness, but its role in sleep remains unclear. Here, we show in mice that fluctuating LC neuronal activity partitions non-rapid-eye-movement sleep (NREMS) into two brain–autonomic states that govern the NREMS–REMS cycle over ~50-s periods; high LC activity induces a subcortical–autonomic arousal state that facilitates cortical microarousals, whereas low LC activity is required for NREMS-to-REMS transitions. This functional alternation regulates the duration of the NREMS–REMS cycle by setting permissive windows for REMS entries during undisturbed sleep while limiting these entries to maximally one per ~50-s period during REMS restriction. A stimulus-enriched, stress-promoting wakefulness was associated with longer and shorter levels of high and low LC activity, respectively, during subsequent NREMS, resulting in more microarousal-induced NREMS fragmentation and delayed REMS onset. We conclude that LC activity fluctuations are gatekeepers of the NREMS–REMS cycle and that this role is influenced by adverse wake experiences.

DOI: 10.1038/s41593-024-01822-0

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-024-01822-0