Seizure susceptibility decreases with enhancement of rapid eye movement sleep.
The study examined the effect of enhanced rapid eye movement (REM) sleep duration on the seizure threshold determined by electrical stimulation of the amygdala in rats. The duration of REM sleep was specifically increased by the microinjection of a cholinergic agonist, carbachol, into the pontine reticular formation. This was accompanied by a significant increase in the threshold current required to elicit an afterdischarge in the amygdala. The results suggest that an increase in REM sleep decreases the likelihood of cortical seizure activity, an effect that is manifest even in other stages of the sleep-wakefulness cycle and not only in the REM state, per se.
Kumar
P
P
Department of Neurophysiology, National Institute of Mental Health & Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore 560029, India.
Raju
T R
TR
D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000378:metabolism; D000344:Afferent Pathways / Q000378:metabolism; D000679:Amygdala / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000818:Animals; D002217:Carbachol / Q000494:pharmacology; D015984:Causality; D018679:Cholinergic Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000187:drug effects; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D007696:Kindling, Neurologic / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D011149:Pons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012154:Reticular Formation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D012640:Seizures / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012892:Sleep Deprivation / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012895:Sleep, REM / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D014630:Vagus Nerve / Q000378:metabolism
D018679:Cholinergic Agonists; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D002217:Carbachol; D000109:Acetylcholine