Lateral hypothalamic neuronal ensembles regulate pre-sleep nest-building behavior.

ABSTRACT: The transition from wakefulness to sleep requires striking alterations in brain activity, physiology, and behavior, yet the precise neuronal circuit elements facilitating this transition remain unclear. Prior to sleep onset, many animal species display characteristic behaviors, including finding a safe location, performing hygiene-related behaviors, and preparing a space for sleep. It has been proposed that the pre-sleep period is a transitional phase in which engaging in a specific behavioral repertoire de-arouses the brain and facilitates the wake-to-sleep transition, yet both causal evidence for this premise and an understanding of the neuronal circuit elements involved are lacking. Here, we combine detailed behavioral observations, EEG-EMG recordings, selective targeting, and activity

SUBMITTER: Sotelo MI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10455050 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature