Sleep Cycle Oscillation: Reciprocal Discharge by Two Brainstem Neuronal Groups

Abstract

During the sleep cycle in cats, neurons localized to the posterolateral pole of the nucleus locus coeruleus and the nucleus subcoeruleus undergo discharge rate changes that are the opposite of those of the pontine reticular giant cells. The inverse rate ratios and activity curves of these two interconnected populations are compatible with reciprocal interaction as a physiological basis of sleep cycle oscillation.