Hypothalamic Neurons that Regulate Feeding Can Influence Sleep/Wake States Based on Homeostatic Need.

ABSTRACT: Eating and sleeping represent two mutually exclusive behaviors that satisfy distinct homeostatic needs. Because an animal cannot eat and sleep at the same time, brain systems that regulate energy homeostasis are likely to influence sleep/wake behavior. Indeed, previous studies indicate that animals adjust sleep cycles around periods of food need and availability. Furthermore, hormones that affect energy homeostasis also affect sleep/wake states: the orexigenic hormone ghrelin promotes wakefulness, and the anorexigenic hormones leptin and insulin increase the duration of slow-wave sleep. However, whether neural populations that regulate feeding can influence sleep/wake states is unknown. The hypothalamic arcuate nucleus contains two neuronal populations that exert opposing effects on energy

SUBMITTER: Goldstein N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6279563 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature