Hanna Hayat, Noa Regev, Noa Matosevich, Anna Sales, Elena Paredes-Rodriguez, Aaron J Krom, Lottem Bergman, Yong Li, Marina Lavigne, Eric J Kremer, Ofer Yizhar, Anthony E Pickering, Yuval Nir
A defining feature of sleep is reduced responsiveness to external stimuli, but the mechanisms mediating sensory-evoked arousal remain unclear. We hypothesized that reduced locus coeruleus (LC) norepinephrine (NE) activity during sleep mediates unresponsiveness, and its action promotes sensory-evoked awakenings. We tested this using electrophysiological, behavioral, pharmacological, and optogenetic techniques alongside auditory stimulation in freely behaving rats. We found that systemic reduction in NE signaling lowered probability of sound-evoked awakenings (SEAs)...
April 2020: Science Advances