title: Organization of the sleep-related neural systems in the brain of the minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata).
abstract: The current study analyzed the nuclear organization of the neural systems related to the control and regulation of sleep and wake in the basal forebrain, diencephalon, midbrain, and pons of the minke whale, a mysticete cetacean. While odontocete cetaceans sleep in an unusual manner, with unihemispheric slow wave sleep (USWS) and suppressed REM sleep, it is unclear whether the mysticete whales show a similar sleep pattern. Previously, we detailed a range of features in the odontocete brain that appear to be related to odontocete-type sleep, and here present our analysis of these features in the minke whale brain. All neural elements involved in sleep regulation and control found in bihemispheric sleeping mammals and the harbor porpoise were present in the minke whale, with no specific nuclei being absent, and no novel nuclei being present. This qualitative similarity relates to the cholinergic, noradrenergic, serotonergic and orexinergic systems, and the GABAergic elements of these nuclei. Quantitative analysis revealed that the numbers of pontine cholinergic (274,242) and noradrenergic (203,686) neurons, and hypothalamic orexinergic neurons (277,604), are markedly higher than other large-brained bihemispheric sleeping mammals. Small telencephalic commissures (anterior, corpus callosum, and hippocampal), an enlarged posterior commissure, supernumerary pontine cholinergic and noradrenergic cells, and an enlarged peripheral division of the dorsal raphe nuclear complex of the minke whale, all indicate that the suite of neural characteristics thought to be involved in the control of USWS and the suppression of REM in the odontocete cetaceans are present in the minke whale. J. Comp. Neurol. 524:2018-2035, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: School of Anatomical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa.
authors.forename: Leigh-Anne
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Dell
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Engineering, Reykjavik University, Reykjavik, Iceland.
authors.forename: Karl Ae
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Karlsson
authors.affiliation: School of Anatomical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa.
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Patzke
authors.affiliation: School of Anatomical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa.|Department of Anatomy, Des Moines University, Des Moines, Iowa, USA.
authors.forename: Muhammad A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Spocter
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California, Los Angeles, Neurobiology Research 151A3, Sepulveda VAMC, North Hills, California, USA.
authors.forename: Jerome M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Siegel
authors.affiliation: School of Anatomical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa.
authors.forename: Paul R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Manger
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D050636:Minke Whale / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D000068797:Orexins / Q000378:metabolism; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000068797:Orexins; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase
keywords: Cetacea; Cetartiodactyla; Mysticete; RRID AB_10000321; RRID AB_10000323; RRID AB_10000340; RRID AB_10000343; RRID AB_2079751; RRID AB_91545; brain evolution; mammalian sleep; unihemispheric sleep