Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-669899f699-7tmb6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-05-03T06:23:04.683Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

8 - A systems-level approach to human REM sleep

from Section II - General biology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 September 2011

By
Luca Matarazzo ,
Ariane Foret ,
Laura Mascetti ,
Vincenzo Muto ,
Anahita Shaffii  and
Pierre Maquet
Edited by
Birendra N. Mallick ,
S. R. Pandi-Perumal ,
Robert W. McCarley  and
Adrian R. Morrison
Luca Matarazzo
Affiliation:
University of Liège - Sart Tilman, Belgium
Ariane Foret
Affiliation:
University of Liège - Sart Tilman, Belgium
Laura Mascetti
Affiliation:
University of Liège - Sart Tilman, Belgium
Vincenzo Muto
Affiliation:
University of Liège - Sart Tilman, Belgium
Anahita Shaffii
Affiliation:
University of Liège - Sart Tilman, Belgium
Pierre Maquet
Affiliation:
University of Liège - Sart Tilman, Belgium
Birendra N. Mallick
Affiliation:
Jawaharlal Nehru University
S. R. Pandi-Perumal
Affiliation:
Somnogen Canada Inc, Toronto
Robert W. McCarley
Affiliation:
Harvard University, Massachusetts
Adrian R. Morrison
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania
Get access

Summary

Summary

The organization of regional brain function during human rapid eye movement sleep (REMS) can be characterized at the macroscopic systems level by functional neuroimaging techniques. Several aspects of REMS have been investigated. During REMS, forebrain activation pattern is characterized by a hyperactivity in posterior cortical areas and regions of the limbic and paralimbic system, contrasting with a relative quiescence of the polymodal associative cortices of the lateral frontal and parietal cortices. This activity pattern has been related to the main characteristic of dreams. The activity associated with rapid eye movements has been identified in the thalamus and primary visual cortex, suggesting the existence of ponto-geniculo-occipital (PGO) waves in humans. The variability of heart rate during REMS is associated with the activity in the extended amygdala, suggesting a specific organization of autonomic regulation during REMS. The distribution of regional brain activity during REMS was shown to depend on experience acquired during previous wakefulness. Training on a serial reaction time task induces an increase in activity in the brain stem, thalamus, occipital, and premotor areas during subsequent REMS. These data suggest that REMS is implicated in offline memory processing. With the advent of multimodal functional imaging (electroencephalography/functional magnetic resonance imaging (EEG/fMRI), transcranial magnetic stimulation/ electroencephalography (TMS/EEG), and multichannel electroencephalography (MEEG)), a finer grain characterization of human REMS will lead to a better understanding of this intriguing state of vigilance.

Type
Chapter
Information
Rapid Eye Movement Sleep
Regulation and Function
 , pp. 71 - 79
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Bowker, R. M. & Morrison, A. R. (1976) The startle reflex and PGO spikes. Brain Res 102: –90.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Braun, A. R., Balkin, T. J., Wesenten, N. J. . (1997) Regional cerebral blood flow throughout the sleep-wake cycle. An H2(15)O PET study. Brain 120(Pt 7): –97.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Braun, A. R., Balkin, T. J., Wesensten, N. J. . (1998a) Dissociated pattern of activity in visual cortices and their projections during human rapid eye movement sleep. Science 279: –5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Braun, A. R., Balkin, T. J., Wesensten, N. J. . (1998b) Dissociated pattern of activity in visual cortices and their projections during human rapid eye movement sleep. Science 279: –5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Callaway, C. W., Lydic, R., Baghdoyan, H. A. & Hobson, J. A. (1987) Pontogeniculooccipital waves: spontaneous visual system activity during rapid eye movement sleep. Cell Mol Neurobiol 7:–49.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cantero, J. L., Atienza, M., Madsen, J. R. & Stickgold, R. (2004) Gamma EEG dynamics in neocortex and hippocampus during human wakefulness and sleep. Neuroimage 22: –80.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cleeremans, A. & McClelland, J. L. (1991) Learning the structure of event sequences. J Exp Psychol Gen 120: –53.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Datta, S. (1997) Cellular basis of pontine ponto-geniculo-occipital wave generation and modulation. Cell Mol Neurobiol 17: –65.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Datta, S. (2000) Avoidance task training potentiates phasic pontine-wave density in the rat: a mechanism for sleep-dependent plasticity. J Neurosci 20: –13.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Datta, S., Li, G. & Auerbach, S. (2008) Activation of phasic pontine-wave generator in the rat: a mechanism for expression of plasticity-related genes and proteins in the dorsal hippocampus and amygdala. Eur J Neurosci 27: –92.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Datta, S., Mavanji, V., Ulloor, J. & Patterson, E. H. (2004) Activation of phasic pontine-wave generator prevents rapid eye movement sleep deprivation-induced learning impairment in the rat: a mechanism for sleep-dependent plasticity. J Neurosci 24: –27.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Datta, S., Saha, S., Prutzman, S. L., Mullins, O. J & Mavanji, V. (2005) Pontine-wave generator activation-dependent memory processing of avoidance learning involves the dorsal hippocampus in the rat. J Neurosci Res 80: –37.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Desseilles, M., Dang Vu, T., Laureys, S. . (2006) A prominent role for amygdaloid complexes in the Variability in Heart Rate (VHR) during Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep relative to wakefulness. Neuroimage 32: –15.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fell, J., Staedtgen, M., Burr, W. . (2003) Rhinal-hippocampal EEG coherence is reduced during human sleep. Eur J Neurosci 18: –16.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fosse, M. J., Fosse, Rm, Hobson, J. A. & Stickgold, R. J. (2003) Dreaming and episodic memory: a functional dissociation?J Cogn Neurosci 15: –9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fuller, P. M., Saper, C. B. & Lu, J. (2007) The pontine REM switch: past and present. J Physiol 584: –41.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hennevin, E., Hars, B., Maho, C. & Bloch, V. (1995) Processing of learned information in paradoxical sleep: relevance for memory. Behav Brain Res 69: –35.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hennevin, E., Maho, C. & Hars, B. (1998) Neuronal plasticity induced by fear conditioning is expressed during paradoxical sleep: evidence from simultaneous recordings in the lateral amygdala and the medial geniculate in rats. Behav Neurosci 112: –62.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hobson, J. A. (1964) [The phasic electrical activity of the cortex and thalamus during desychonized sleep in cats.] C R Seances Soc Biol Fil 158: –5.Google ScholarPubMed
Hobson, J. A. & McCarley, R. W. (1977) The brain as a dream state generator: an activation-synthesis hypothesis of the dream process. Am J Psychiatry 134: –48.Google ScholarPubMed
Hobson, J. A., Pace-Schott, E. F. & Stickgold, R. (2000) Dreaming and the brain: toward a cognitive neuroscience of conscious states. Behav Brain Sci 23: ––1121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hong, C. C., Harris, J. C., Pearlson, G. D. . (2009) fMRI evidence for multisensory recruitment associated with rapid eye movements during sleep. Hum Brain Mapp 30: –22.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hopkins, D. A. & Holstege, G. (1978) Amygdaloid projections to the mesencephalon, pons and medulla oblongata in the cat. Exp Brain Res 32: –47.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Inoué, S., Saha, U. K. & Musha, T. (1999) Spatio-temporal distribution of neuronal activities and REM sleep. In Rapid Eye Movement Sleep, eds. Mallick, B. N. & Inoue, S.. New Dehli: Narosa Publishing, pp. 214–20.Google Scholar
Ioannides, A. A., Corsi-Cabrera, M., Fenwick, P. B. . (2004) MEG tomography of human cortex and brainstem activity in waking and REM sleep saccades. Cereb Cortex 14: –72.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Laureys, S., Peigneux, P., Phillips, C. . (2001) Experience-dependent changes in cerebral functional connectivity during human rapid eye movement sleep. Neuroscience 105: –5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lim, A. S., Lozano, A. M., Moro, E. . (2007) Characterization of REM-sleep associated ponto-geniculo-occipital waves in the human pons. Sleep 30: –7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Luppi, P. H., Gervasoni, D., Verret, L. . (2006) Paradoxical (REM) sleep genesis: the switch from an aminergic-cholinergic to a GABAergic-glutamatergic hypothesis. J Physiol Paris 100: –83.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lydic, R., Baghdoyan, H. A., Hibbard, L. . (1991) Regional brain glucose metabolism is altered during rapid eye movement sleep in the cat: a preliminary study. J Comp Neurol 304: –29.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Madsen, P. L., Holm, S., Vorstrup, S. . (1991) Human regional cerebral blood flow during rapid-eye-movement sleep. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 11: –7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Magnin, M., Bastuji, H., Garcia-Larrea, L. & Mauguiere, F. (2004) Human thalamic medial pulvinar nucleus is not activated during paradoxical sleep. Cereb Cortex 14: –62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maquet, P. (2000) Functional neuroimaging of normal human sleep by positron emission tomography. J Sleep Res 9: –31.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maquet, P. & Franck, G. (1997) REM sleep and amygdala. Mol Psychiatry 2: –6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maquet, P. & Phillips, C. (1998) Functional brain imaging of human sleep. J Sleep Res 7: –7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maquet, P., Dive, D., Salmon, E. . (1990) Cerebral glucose utilization during sleep-wake cycle in man determined by positron emission tomography and [18F]2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose method. Brain Res 513: –43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maquet, P., Peters, J., Aerts, J. . (1996) Functional neuroanatomy of human rapid-eye-movement sleep and dreaming. Nature 383: –6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maquet, P., Laureys, S., Peigneux, P. . (2000) Experience-dependent changes in cerebral activation during human REM sleep. Nat Neurosci 3: –6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maquet, P., Ruby, P., Maudoux, A. . (2005) Human cognition during REM sleep and the activity profile within the frontal and parietal cortices: a reappraisal of functional neuroimaging data. In , ed. S. Laureys. Elsevier, pp. 219–27.CrossRef
McCarley, R. W., Winkelman, J. W. & Duffy, F. H. (1983) Human cerebral potentials associated with REM sleep rapid eye movements: links to PGO waves and waking potentials. Brain Res 274: –64.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miyauchi, S., Misaki, M., Kan, S., Fukunaga, T. & Koike, T. (2009) Human brain activity time-locked to rapid eye movements during REM sleep. Exp Brain Res 192: –67.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mouret, J., Jeannerod, M. & Jouvet, M. (1963) [Electrical activity of the visual system during the paradoxical phase of sleep in the cat.] J Physiol (Paris) 55: –6.Google ScholarPubMed
Nofzinger, E. A., Mintun, M. A., Wiseman, M., Kupfer, D. J. & Moore, R. Y. (1997) Forebrain activation in REM sleep: an FDG PET study. Brain Res 770: –201.Google Scholar
Oppenheimer, S. M., Gelb, A., Girvin, J. P. & Hachinski, V. C. (1992) Cardiovascular effects of human insular cortex stimulation. Neurology 42: –32.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Orem, J. & Barnes, C. D. (1980) Physiology in Sleep. New York: Academic Press.Google ScholarPubMed
Parmeggiani, P. L. (1985) Regulation of circulation and breathing during sleep: experimental aspects. Ann Clin Res 17: –9.Google ScholarPubMed
Peigneux, P., Maquet, P., Meulemans, T. . (2000) Striatum forever, despite sequence learning variability: a random effect analysis of PET data. Hum Brain Mapp 10: –94.3.0.CO;2-H>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Peigneux, P., Laureys, S., Fuchs, S. . (2001) Generation of rapid eye movements during paradoxical sleep in humans. Neuroimage 14: –8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Peigneux, P., Laureys, S., Fuchs, S. . (2003) Learned material content and acquisition level modulate cerebral reactivation during posttraining rapid-eye-movements sleep. Neuroimage 20: –34.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ramm, P. & Frost, B. J. (1983) Regional metabolic activity in the rat brain during sleep-wake activity. Sleep 6: –216.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ramm, P. & Frost, B. J. (1986) Cerebral and local cerebral metabolism in the cat during slow wave and REM sleep. Brain Res 365: –24.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rasch, B., Pommer, J., Diekelmann, S. & Born, J. (2008) Pharmacological REM sleep suppression paradoxically improves rather than impairs skill memory. Nat Neurosci 12: –7.Google ScholarPubMed
Rechtschaffen, A. & Kales, A. (1968) A Manual of Standardized Terminology, Techniques and Scoring System for Sleep Stages of Human Subjects. University of California, LA: Brain Information Service/Brain Research Institute.Google Scholar
Rugg, M. D., Otten, L. J. & Henson, R. N. (2002) The neural basis of episodic memory: evidence from functional neuroimaging. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 357: –110.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Salzarulo, P., Lairy, G. C., Bancaud, J. & Munari, C. (1975) Direct depth recording of the striate cortex during REM sleep in man: are there PGO potentials?EEG Clin Neurophysiol 38: –202.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Siegel, J. M. (2001) The REM sleep-memory consolidation hypothesis. Science 294: –63.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Solms, M. (1997) The Neuropsychology of Dreams. A Clinico-anatomical Study. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Steriade, M. & McCarley, R. W. (1990) Brainstem Control of Wakefulness and Sleep. New York: Plenum Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steriade, M. & McCarley, R. W. (2005) Brain Control of Wakefulness and Sleep. New York: Kluwer Academic.Google Scholar
Wehrle, R., Czisch, M., Kaufmann, C. . (2005) Rapid eye movement-related brain activation in human sleep: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Neuroreport 16: –7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Williamson, J. W., Nobrega, A. C., McColl, R. . (1997) Activation of the insular cortex during dynamic exercise in humans. J Physiol 503(2): –83.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Williamson, J. W., McColl, R., Mathews, D., Ginsburg, M. & Mitchell, J. H. (1999) Activation of the insular cortex is affected by the intensity of exercise. J Appl Physiol 87: –19.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Williamson, J. W., McColl, R. & Mathews, D. (2003) Evidence for central command activation of the human insular cortex during exercise. J Appl Physiol 94: –34.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Williamson, J. W., Querry, R., McColl, R. & Mathews, D. (2009) Are decreases in insular regional cerebral blood flow sustained during postexercise hypotension?Med Sci Sports Exerc 41: –80.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×