Phasic Activity of the Basolateral Amygdala, Cingulate Gyrus, and Hippocampus During REM Sleep in the Cat

Abstract

Summary: We analyzed the electrical activity of the basolateral amygdala (BLA), anterior and posterior regions of the cingulate gyrus (A-CG and P-CG) , the dorsal hippocampus (DH) , the anterior ventral thalamic nucleus (AVTN), and the sensory motor cortex during the rapid eye movements and ponto-geniculo-occipital (PGO) activity of REM sleep in cats in chronic preparation. Polygraphic recordings and computational peri event averages using the phasic contractions of the lateral rectus muscle (LR) of the eyeball as the triggering signal of the analysis were performed. We observed biphasic potentials (200--300 ms) of variable amplitude, related to the phasic phenomena of REM sleep, in the BLA, A-CG, P-CG, DH, and AVTN. The latencies of the potentials of these regions were always greater than those of the geniculate PGO activities. We propose that the recorded limbic potentials resulted from propagation of PGO activity and that this phenomenon may reflect the limbic structure of the hallucinatory, vegetative, and emotional components of REM sleep. Key Words: Sleep--Amygdala-Hippocampus-Gyrus cinguli-REM sleep--Ponto-geniculo-occipital activity.Jouvet and Michel (1) demonstrated the existence of monophasic spikes in cats at the level of the pons during REM sleep. This electrical activity is propagated from the pontine region (2,3) to the cortical and subcortical structures of the visual system (4--6). Jeannerod et al. (7) were the first to call the phenomenon ponto-geniculo-occipital (PGO) activity. Ponto-geniculo-occipital activity has been studied thoroughly in the oculomotor system (8-12).In man emotional changes, mnestic phenomena of a personal and conceptual type and vegetative changes accompany the rapid eye movements of REM sleep. Jouvet et al. (13), Snyder et al. (14), Baust and Bohenert (15), Welch and Richardson (16), and FernandezGuardiola et al. (17) have described variations in the frequency of both cardiac and respiratory rates related to rapid eye movements.The functions related to emotional and vegetative changes are integrated in the limbic system and in the hypothalamus. Electrical stimulation of these structures elicits emotional

Hypnagogic and Hypnopompic Hallucinations during Sleep Paralysis: Neurological and Cultural Construction of the Night-Mare

“…This view is consistent with recent observations regarding hallucinations in other contexts (Bentall, 1990;Woody & Szechtman, 1999). Moreover, the notion that hallucinations involve interactions between the amygdaloid complex and prefrontal cortical structures, such as the anterior cingulate, is consistent with recent work on REM dream imagery (Calvo & Fernández-Guardiola, 1984;Marquette et al, 1996), schizophrenia-related hallucinations (Cleghorn et al, 1992;Silbersweig et al, 1995), and hypnotically induced hallucinations (Szechtman, Woody, Bowers, & Nahmias, 1998). Szechtman et al, for example, found positive associations between regional cerebral blood flow (rCFB) in rostral portions within the right anterior cingulate and hallucinating subjects' ratings of externality and clarity of hallucinations.…”

Human brain activity time-locked to rapid eye movements during REM sleep

“…It is well known that there are anatomical and physiological correlations between the amygdala and the pons, where the PGO wave generator is located (Calvo and Fernandez-Guardiola 1984;Datta et al 1998) and that the time interval between PGO waves and REMs is on the order of tens of milliseconds in neurophysiological studies using animals (Datta and Hobson 1994). In contrast, the BOLD response of the PGO areas started several seconds before the occurrence of REMs in the present study.…”

Enhancement of Synchronization Between Hippocampal and Amygdala Theta Waves Associated With Pontine Wave Density

“…Because there are direct and/or indirect projections from the P wave generator in the pontine subcoeruleus region to many brain areas including the hippocampus and amygdala (Bland and Oddie 1998;Datta et al 1998Datta et al , 1999Hallanger and Wainer 1988;Usunoff et al 2006), the P wave generator in rats and the PGO wave generator in cats are believed to activate the hippocampus and amygdala (Calvo and Fernández-Guardiola 1984;Datta et al 2008). Recent findings showed that hippocampal and amygdala theta waves are induced by glutamatergic stimulation in the septum/hippocampus and amygdala, respectively (Bland et al 2007;Goutagny et al 2008;JafariSabet 2006;Sinfield and Collins 2006).…”