Sleep architecture in unrestrained rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) synchronized to 24-hour light-dark cycles.
OBJECTIVE
To characterize the sleep patterns of unrestrained, diurnal nonhuman primates entrained to 24-hour light-dark cycles.


METHODS
EEG, EMG, and EOG were recorded continuously via implanted telemetry from 5 unrestrained male rhesus monkeys housed individually under a 16:8 light-dark cycle (LD 16:8; L = 13 lux; D = 0 lux).


RESULTS
In a LD 16:8 cycle, all 5 monkeys demonstrated a long period of consolidated sleep during the 8-h dark period. On average, sleep accounted for 89.2% of the 8-h dark period and 25.2% of the 16-hour light period. REM sleep occupied 23% of total sleep time over 24 h, or 10.7% of the total time. The average length of the consolidated sleep (CS) period was 10.5 h, although the time of CS onset was variable. In contrast, the end of CS, and thus the onset of consolidated wakefulness (CW) demonstrated very little variation, typically occurring within 2 min of light onset. Ultradian NREM-REM cycles with periods of approximately 60 min were also observed. EEG delta activity during NREM sleep, thought to reflect the homeostatic sleep process, peaked at 3-4 h after CS onset.


CONCLUSIONS
The present study demonstrates the feasibility of long-term, unrestrained sleep monitoring in nonhuman primates using fully-implantable biotelemetry. With minor exceptions, most notably a delay in peak delta activity, sleep-wake architecture, regulation, and consolidation in rhesus monkeys strongly resembles that of humans. These results demonstrate that the unrestrained rhesus monkey is an excellent biomedical model for human sleep.
Hsieh
Kung-Chiao
KC
Department of Neurobiology, Physiology & Behavior, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Robinson
Edward L
EL
Fuller
Charles A
CA
D000818:Animals; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*; D003196:Computer Graphics; D006706:Homeostasis / Q000502:physiology; D008253:Macaca mulatta / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D017286:Polysomnography; D012016:Reference Values; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D012895:Sleep, REM / Q000502:physiology; D014851:Wakefulness / Q000502:physiology
Arch Neurol. 1965 Feb;12:133-44
14237770
J Neurosci. 1993 Aug;13(8):3284-99
8340808
Am J Physiol. 1990 Mar;258(3 Pt 2):R650-61
2316712
Clin Neurophysiol. 2001 Aug;112(8):1540-52
11459695
Sleep. 1993 Feb;16(2):100-13
8446828
Arch Neurol. 1965 May;12:463-7
14288983
J Biol Rhythms. 1987 Fall;2(3):207-19
2979661
Chronobiol Int. 2006;23(6):1139-47
17190701
Biol Psychiatry. 2000 Nov 15;48(10):1010-9
11082476
Am J Physiol. 1984 Feb;246(2 Pt 2):R161-83
6696142
Science. 1971 Dec 24;174(4016):1354-6
5135723
Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol. 1985 Aug;61(2):134-7
2410222
Behav Brain Res. 2007 Jun 4;180(1):62-8
17399804
Hum Neurobiol. 1982;1(3):195-204
7185792
J Clin Sleep Med. 2007 Mar 15;3(2):121-31
17557422
Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol. 1981 May;51(5):483-95
6165548
J Physiol. 1992 Feb;447:215-34
1593448
Sleep. 2006 Feb;29(2):221-31
16494090
Exp Neurol. 1979 Feb;63(2):420-35
108127
Brain Res. 2000 Oct 6;879(1-2):130-8
11011014
Sleep. 1997 Dec;20(12):1201-7
9493933
Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol. 1978 Feb;44(2):202-13
75093
Sleep. 1993 Aug;16(5):467-77
8378687
Neuroimage. 2005 May 15;26(1):114-22
15862211
Hum Neurobiol. 1982;1(3):185-94
6764465
Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol. 1986 Jul;64(1):74-6
2424723
Sleep. 1987 Dec;10(6):542-50
3432855
Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol. 1970 Jan;28(1):32-40
4188471
Sleep Res Online. 2000;3(3):113-9
11382909
Psychophysiology. 1979 May;16(3):283-91
220659
Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol. 1975 Dec;39(6):657-62
53145
Sleep. 2005 Apr;28(4):479-96
16171293
Neurosci Lett. 2004 Aug 5;366(1):58-62
15265590
Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol. 1978 May;44(5):562-7
77762
J Appl Physiol (1985). 1993 Apr;74(4):1684-8
8514683
Sleep. 2004 May 1;27(3):423-33
15164894
J Appl Physiol (1985). 1996 Jul;81(1):188-93
8828664
Life Sci. 1975 May 1;16(9):1375-85
166263
Am J Physiol. 1985 Mar;248(3 Pt 2):R353-62
3976909
J Sleep Res. 2004 Dec;13(4):305-15
15560765
Pediatrics. 2007 Oct;120(4):e769-76
17908734
J Neurosci. 1993 Mar;13(3):1065-79
8441003
Lab Anim Sci. 1977 Oct;27(5 Pt 2):879-86
201798
Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol. 1998 Mar;106(3):206-12
9743278
Am J Phys Anthropol. 1973 Mar;38(2):613-9
4632112
Sleep. 1987 Dec;10(6):508-22
3432853
J Neurophysiol. 1985 Dec;54(6):1473-97
4087044
Prog Neurobiol. 1978;10(1):1-31
213814
J Sleep Res. 2006 Dec;15(4):376-85
17118094
Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol. 1968 Jun;24(6):582-6
4172742
Neuroscience. 1997 Nov;81(1):213-22
9300413
Sleep. 2003 Mar 15;26(2):192-200
12683479
J Sleep Res. 2007 Jun;16(2):170-80
17542947
Biol Psychol. 1985 Mar;20(2):83-112
3888298
J Med Primatol. 1996 Dec;25(6):387-96
9210023