REM sleep quality is associated with balanced tonic activity of the locus coeruleus during wakefulness.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Animal studies established that the locus coeruleus (LC) plays important roles in sleep and wakefulness regulation. Whether it contributes to sleep variability in humans is not yet established. Here, we investigated if the in vivo activity of the LC is related to the variability in the quality of Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep.

Methods

We assessed the LC activity of 34 healthy younger (~ 22y) and 18 older (~ 61y) individuals engaged in bottom-up and top-down cognitive tasks using 7-Tesla functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). We further recorded their sleep electroencephalogram (EEG) to evaluate associations between LC fMRI measures and REM sleep EEG metrics.

Results

Theta oscillation energy during REM sleep was positively associated with LC response

SUBMITTER: Mortazavi N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11900061 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature