OBJECTIVE To investigate how differences in oxygen saturation between non-REM (NREM) and REM sleep in patients according to the severity of sleep apnea. METHODS We studied 396 male patients diagnosed with simple snoring or obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) on nocturnal polysomnography. Patients were divided into groups by the OSAS severity. We compared the average oxygen saturation betw...

Intracellular signaling mechanisms within the pedunculopontine tegmental (PPT) nucleus for the regulation of recovery rapid eye movement (REM) sleep following REM sleep deprivation remain unknown. This study was designed to determine the role of PPT intracellular cAMP-dependent protein kinase A (cAMP-PKA) in the regulation of recovery REM sleep in freely moving rats. The results show that a bri...

Changes in sleep structure, and especially REM sleep, and in EEG activation were studied in relation to the cholinergic deficit found in Alzheimer's Disease (AD). With respect to sleep architecture, only REM sleep percent was reduced in AD patients compared to controls as a result of a decrease in mean REM episode duration. Different results were obtained in patients with progressive supranucle...

BACKGROUND Arousal in response to increased airflow resistance during sleep, especially rapid eye movement sleep (REM), could be an important protective mechanism against asphyxia. METHODS The arousal response to the application of an external inspiratory resistance of 25 cm H2O/l/s was determined during REM and non-REM sleep in ten healthy men. RESULTS The number of arousals occurring with...

Ponto-geniculo-occipital (PGO) waves are spiky field potentials generated in cholinergic nuclei of the dorsolateral mesopontine tegmentum just prior to and during rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep and transferred toward thalamic nuclei. These events are commonly regarded as physiological correlates of oneiric behavior. We have examined the PGO-related discharges of physiologically identified neuro...

Cholinergic neurotransmission in the medial pontine reticular formation (mPRF) modulates rapid eye movement (REM) sleep generation. Microinjection of cholinergic agonists and acetylcholinesterase inhibitors into the mPRF induces a REM sleep-like state, and microdialysis data reveal increased mPRF levels of acetylcholine during REM sleep. Muscarinic cholinergic receptors (mAChRs) participate in ...

Seventeen unmedicated patients with narcolepsy-cataplexy and 17 age- and sex-matched controls were recorded polygraphically for 3 consecutive nights. Rapid eye movements (REMs), m. mentalis twitches and sawtooth waves in the EEG were visually scored. REM and twitch densities during REM sleep were significantly higher in the patients than in the controls. The distribution pattern of REMs and twi...

Flexible or 'fluid' cognitive processes are regarded as fundamental to problem solving and creative ability, requiring a specific neurophysiological milieu. REM-sleep dreaming is associated with creative processes and abstract reasoning with increased strength of weak associations in cognitive networks. REM sleep is also mediated by a distinctive neurophysiological profile, different to that of...

Action of the uppermost medial internal intercostal muscles-the parasternals-during rapid eye movement (REM) is uncertain; no direct recordings exist of shortening of these muscles during sleep. Historically, motor inhibition of skeletal muscles during REM sleep is thought to cause global loss of chest wall muscle function, REM "atonia," with preservation of only diaphragm function. However, re...

Many recent studies indicate that acetylcholine (ACh) in the brainstem is involved in REM sleep generation. Local ACh release in the brainstem regions, responsible for REM sleep during sleep and wakefulness, has not so far been reported because of technical difficulties. With in vivo microdialysis and electrochemical detection, we investigated the relationship between ACh release and sleep-wake...