title: Noradrenaline inhibits preoptic sleep-active neurons through alpha 2-receptors in the rat.
abstract: Effects of noradrenaline (NA) on the activity of sleep-related neurons in the preoptic area (POA) and the neighboring basal forebrain were examined in the rat. Of 36 sleep-active neurons tested, 19 were inhibited and the other 17 were unaffected by NA applied through a multibarrel pipette. The alpha 2-agonist clonidine inhibited 11 of 14 sleep-active neurons and did not affect the other 3 neurons, whereas the alpha 1-agonist methoxamine (n = 13) and the beta-agonist isoproterenol (n = 11) had no effect on any of the sleep-active neurons tested. Thus, alpha 2-receptors mediated the NA-induced inhibition. Of 22 waking-active neurons tested, NA excited 10, inhibited 1, and had no effect on the remaining 11. Methoxamine excited 4 of 13 waking-active neurons tested, whereas isoproterenol (n = 9) and clonidine (n = 4) were without effect on any of the waking-active neurons tested. Accordingly, alpha 1-receptors probably mediated the NA-induced excitation. Seventy-seven state-indifferent neurons, which lacked activity related to the sleep-waking state, and 20 paradoxical sleep-active neurons were mostly (65%-70%) insensitive to NA. These results suggest that NA promotes wakefulness by inhibiting sleep-active neurons and by exciting waking-active neurons.
authors.affiliation: Osaka Bioscience Institute, Suita, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Osaka
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matsumura
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004594:Electrophysiology; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011301:Preoptic Area / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D011942:Receptors, Adrenergic, alpha / Q000502:physiology*; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D012895:Sleep, REM / Q000502:physiology; D014851:Wakefulness / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D011942:Receptors, Adrenergic, alpha; D009638:Norepinephrine