Central pattern generator control of a vertebrate ultradian sleep rhythm.

ABSTRACT: The mechanisms underlying the mammalian ultradian sleep rhythm-the alternation of rapid-eye-movement (REM) and slow-wave (SW) states-are not well understood but probably depend, at least in part, on circuits in the brainstem^1-6. Here, we use perturbation experiments to probe this ultradian rhythm in sleeping lizards (Pogona vitticeps)^7-9 and test the hypothesis that it originates in a central pattern generator^10,11-circuits that are typically susceptible to phase-dependent reset and entrainment by external stimuli¹². Using light pulses, we find that Pogona's ultradian rhythm⁸ can be reset in a phase-dependent manner, with a critical transition from phase delay to phase advance in the middle of SW. The ultradian rhythm frequency can be

SUBMITTER: Fenk LA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11655359 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature