Modulation of desynchronized sleep through microinjection of α1-adrenergic agonists and antagonists in the dorsal pontine tegmentum of the cat

✍ Scribed by Chiara Cirelli; Giulio Tononi; Maria Pompeiano; Ottavio Pompeiano; Alessandra Gennari

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1992
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 771 KB
• Volume: 422
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0031-6768
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00376213

✦ Synopsis

Noradrenaline is involved in the regulation of the sleep/waking cycle by acting through various receptor types. In previous studies we investigated the role of [3and a2-adrenergic receptors through local microinjections of various drugs into the dorsal pontine tegmentum (DPT) of the cat. This region is known to be crucially involved in desynchronized sleep execution. In this study we examined the role of a~-adrenergic receptors. The al-agonist methoxamine and the a~-antagonist prazosin were injected into the DPT of freely moving, unanaesthetized cats. We found that methoxamine notably reduced desynchronized sleep, and that this effect was both dose-dependent and site-specific. These effects were prevented by the subsequent injection of prazosin. On the other hand, the injection into the DPT of prazosin alone produced scarce or inconsistent effects on the sleep/waking cycle.