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The effects of leptin on REM sleep and slow wave deltain rats are reversed by food deprivation
Author(s) -
Sinton Christopher M.,
Fitch Thomas E.,
Gershenfeld Howard K.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of sleep research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.297
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1365-2869
pISSN - 0962-1105
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2869.1999.00158.x
Subject(s) - leptin , endocrinology , medicine , sleep deprivation , hypothalamus , slow wave sleep , sleep (system call) , rapid eye movement sleep , adipose tissue , circadian rhythm , hormone , food intake , leptin receptor , obesity , eye movement , electroencephalography , computer science , operating system , psychiatry , ophthalmology
Summary Leptin ( ob protein) is an adipose tissue derived circulating hormone that acts at specific receptors in the hypothalamus to reduce food intake. The protein is also critically involved in energy balance and metabolic status. Here the effect of leptin on sleep architecture in rats was evaluated because food consumption and metabolic status are known to influence sleep. Sprague‐Dawley rats were chronically implanted with electrodes for EEG and EMG recording and diurnal sleep parameters were quantified over 9‐h periods following leptin administration. Murine recombinant leptin (rMuLep) was administered systemically to rats that either had undergone 18 h of prior food deprivation or had received food ad libitum . In the normally fed rats, leptin significantly decreased the duration of rapid eye movement sleep (REMS) by about 30% and increased the duration of slow wave sleep (SWS) by about 13%, the latter effect reflecting enhanced power in the delta frequency band. These results are consistent with studies that have linked changes in metabolic rate with effects on sleep. Leptin administration has previously been shown to alter neuroendocrine parameters that could have mediated these changes in sleep architecture. Unexpectedly, prior food deprivation negated the effect of leptin on both REMS and SWS, a result that emphasizes the significance of the apparent coupling between sleep parameters and energy status.