Regional variation in cholinergic terminal activity determines the non-uniform occurrence of cortical slow waves during REM sleep in mice

Mojtaba Nazari; Javad Karimi Abadchi; Milad Naghizadeh; Edgar J Bermudez-Contreras; Bruce L McNaughton; Masami Tatsuno; Majid H Mohajerani

doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112450

Regional variation in cholinergic terminal activity determines the non-uniform occurrence of cortical slow waves during REM sleep in mice

Cell Rep. 2023 May 30;42(5):112450. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112450. Epub 2023 Apr 30.

Authors

Mojtaba Nazari¹, Javad Karimi Abadchi¹, Milad Naghizadeh¹, Edgar J Bermudez-Contreras¹, Bruce L McNaughton², Masami Tatsuno³, Majid H Mohajerani⁴

Affiliations

¹ Canadian Centre for Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4, Canada.
² Canadian Centre for Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4, Canada; Center for Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
³ Canadian Centre for Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4, Canada. Electronic address: tatsuno@uleth.ca.
⁴ Canadian Centre for Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4, Canada. Electronic address: mohajerani@uleth.ca.

PMID: 37126447
DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112450

Abstract

Sleep consists of two basic stages: non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. NREM sleep is characterized by slow high-amplitude cortical electroencephalogram (EEG) signals, while REM sleep is characterized by desynchronized cortical rhythms. Despite this, recent electrophysiological studies have suggested the presence of slow waves (SWs) in local cortical areas during REM sleep. Electrophysiological techniques, however, have been unable to resolve the regional structure of these activities because of relatively sparse sampling. Here, we map functional gradients in cortical activity during REM sleep using mesoscale imaging in mice and show local SW patterns occurring mainly in somatomotor and auditory cortical regions with minimum presence within the default mode network. The role of the cholinergic system in local desynchronization during REM sleep is also explored by calcium imaging of cholinergic activity within the cortex and analyzing structural data. We demonstrate weaker cholinergic projections and terminal activity in regions exhibiting frequent SWs during REM sleep.

Keywords: CP: Neuroscience; NREM; REM; acetylcholine; cholinergic projection; hippocampus; neocortex; non-rapid eye movement; rapid eye movement; sleep; slow waves; wide-field mesoscale voltage and glutamate imaging.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Auditory Cortex*
Electroencephalography / methods
Mice
Sleep
Sleep, REM / physiology
Sleep, Slow-Wave* / physiology