title: Wake-sleep and cardiovascular regulatory changes in rats made obese by a high-fat diet.
abstract: Obesity is known to be associated with alterations in wake-sleep (WS) architecture and cardiovascular parameters. This study was aimed at assessing the possible influence of diet-induced obesity (DIO) on sleep homeostasis and on the WS state-dependent levels of arterial pressure (AP) and heart rate in the rat. Two groups of age-matched Sprague-Dawley rats were fed either a high-fat hypercaloric diet, leading to DIO, or a normocaloric standard diet (lean controls) for 8 weeks. While under general anesthesia, animals were implanted with instrumentation for the recording of electroencephalogram, electromyogram, arterial pressure, and deep brain temperature. The experimental protocol consisted of 48h of baseline, 12h of gentle handling, enhancing wake and depressing sleep, and 36-h post-handling recovery. Compared to lean controls, DIO rats showed: i) the same amount of rapid-eye movement (REM) and non-REM (NREM) sleep in the rest period, although the latter was characterized by more fragmented episodes; ii) an increase in both REM sleep and NREM sleep in the activity period; iii) a comparable post-handling sleep homeostatic response, in terms of either the degree of Delta power increase during NREM sleep or the quantitative compensation of the REM sleep loss at the end of the 36-h recovery period; iv) significantly higher levels of AP, irrespectively of the different WS states and of the changes in their intensity throughout the experimental protocol. Overall, these changes may be the reflection of a modification in the activity of the hypothalamic areas where WS, autonomic, and metabolic regulations are known to interact.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences-Physiology, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Piazza di Porta San Donato, 2, 40126, Bologna, Italy. Electronic address: marco.luppi@unibo.it.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Luppi
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences-Physiology, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Piazza di Porta San Donato, 2, 40126, Bologna, Italy. Electronic address: ampental.altzachman2@unibo.it.
authors.forename: Abed A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Al-Jahmany
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences-Physiology, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Piazza di Porta San Donato, 2, 40126, Bologna, Italy. Electronic address: flavia.delvecchio@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Flavia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Del Vecchio
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences-Physiology, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Piazza di Porta San Donato, 2, 40126, Bologna, Italy. Electronic address: matteo.cerri@unibo.it.
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cerri
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences-Physiology, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Piazza di Porta San Donato, 2, 40126, Bologna, Italy. Electronic address: alessia.dicristofor2@unibo.it.
authors.forename: Alessia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Cristoforo
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences-Physiology, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Piazza di Porta San Donato, 2, 40126, Bologna, Italy. Electronic address: timna.hitrec@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Timna
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hitrec
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences-Physiology, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Piazza di Porta San Donato, 2, 40126, Bologna, Italy; Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3052, Australia. Electronic address: davide.martelli@florey.edu.au.
authors.forename: Davide
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Martelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences-Physiology, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Piazza di Porta San Donato, 2, 40126, Bologna, Italy. Electronic address: emanuele.perez@unibo.it.
authors.forename: Emanuele
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Perez
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences-Physiology, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Piazza di Porta San Donato, 2, 40126, Bologna, Italy. Electronic address: giovanni.zamboni@unibo.it.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zamboni
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences-Physiology, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Piazza di Porta San Donato, 2, 40126, Bologna, Italy. Electronic address: roberto.amici@unibo.it.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Amici
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D058256:Brain Waves / Q000502:physiology*; D003623:Dark Adaptation / Q000502:physiology; D059305:Diet, High-Fat / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004576:Electromyography; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000209:etiology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D014851:Wakefulness / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Arterial pressure; Diet-induced obesity; Heart rate; Sleep; Sleep homeostasis