抄録
Dramatic changes in a variety of autonomic functions, including blood pressure fluctuation, occur during paradoxical sleep (PS). However, its mechanisms remain to be known. During wakefulness, the lateral hypothalamus and mesopontine tegmental area are considered to have crucial roles in regulation of blood pressure. We have obtained the neurons which increased their activity during PS both from the lateral hypothamlamic area (LHA) and the cholinergic nuclei in the mesopontine tegmentum, the laterodorsal tegmental nucleus (LDT) and the pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus (PPT). We also found that some of these neurons increased their firing several seconds in advance of the increase in blood pressure during PS, suggesting that both the LHA and LDT are driving the increase in blood pressure during PS. By simultaneous recording of the neurons both from the LHA and LDT, it became clear that the LDT neurons start to fire prior to the LHA neurons in association with blood pressure increase during PS. These results indicate that the cholinergic neurons in the LDT drive the LHA to increase blood pressure during PS. [Jpn J Physiol 54 Suppl:S54 (2004)]
