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Psychogenetically Selected (Roman High- and Low-Avoidance) Rats Differ in 24-Hour Sleep Organization

Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit

Agathe Python

Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Geneva, CH-1225 Chêne-Bourg, Switzerland,

Peter Driscoll

Institut für Nutztierwissenschaften, Physiologie und Tierhaltung, ETH, CH-8603 Schwerzenbach, Switzerland

Zarah de Saint Hilaire

Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Geneva, CH-1225 Chêne-Bourg, Switzerland,

A comparison of sleep organization in Roman high-(RHA/Verh) and low-(RLA/Verh) avoidance rats, which differ in the way they respond to environmental stimuli and in several neuroendocrine and neurochemical parameters, was carried out. EEG-sleep recordings were obtained from adult males over 12:12 light-dark periods to determine how these two psychogenetically selected rat lines might also differ in their sleep-wake cycle. There was no significant difference in total sleep time between the two lines. However, the (hypoemotional) RHA/Verh rats showed an overall increase (percentage of total sleep) in paradoxical sleep (PS) duration, with a concomitant decrease in slow-wave sleep (SWS). During the dark phase, RHA/Verh rats showed a shorter PS latency and a larger number of PS episodes. Hourly sleep scoring also revealed a more discontinuous pattern (total sleep and PS vs. SWS) during the dark phase in RHA/Verh rats. In relation to recognized neurochemical and neuroendocrine differences between them, these rat lines may prove useful in investigations of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying sleep regulation.

Key Words: sleep patterns • paradoxical sleep • genetic selection • anxiety • emotionality • rat

Journal of Biological Rhythms, Vol. 14, No. 3, 221-226 (1999)
DOI: 10.1177/074873099129000632


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