Rodent models of insomnia: a review of experimental procedures that induce sleep disturbances.
Insomnia, the most common sleep disorder, is characterized by persistent difficulty in falling or staying asleep despite adequate opportunity to sleep, leading to daytime fatigue and mental dysfunction. As sleep is a sophisticated physiological process generated by a network of neuronal systems that cannot be reproduced in-vitro, pre-clinical development of hypnotic drugs requires in-vivo investigations. Accordingly, this review critically evaluates current and putative rodent models of insomnia which could be used to screen novel hypnotics. Only few valid insomnia models are currently available, although many experimental conditions lead to disturbance of physiological sleep. We categorized these conditions as a function of the procedure used to induce perturbation of sleep, and we discuss their respective advantages and pitfalls with respect to validity, feasibility and translational value to human research.
Revel
Florent G
FG
CNS Discovery, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel, Switzerland. florent.revel@roche.com
Gottowik
Juergen
J
Gatti
Sylvia
S
Wettstein
Joseph G
JG
Moreau
Jean-Luc
JL
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D012377:Rodentia; D012890:Sleep / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology; D013315:Stress, Psychological