New research explores 'early bird' and 'night owl' slee...( mined 24-hour variations in the animals...)

mined 24-hour variations in the animals' slow wave sleep, activity and changes from rest to activity. The comparisons between the three strains have led the researchers to conclude that there were significant variations in these measures, strongly suggesting that the findings were due to genetic differences.

The authors of "Circadian Slow Wave Sleep and Movement Behavior are under Genetic Control in Inbred Strains of Rat," are Thom R. Feroah, Todd Sleeper, Dan Brozoski, Joan Forder, Tom B. Rice, and Hubert V. Forster from the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI. Dr. Feroah will present his team's findings at the American Physiological Society's (APS) (www.the-aps.org) annual scientific conference, Experimental Biology 2004, being held April 17-21, 2004, at the Washington, D.C. Convention Center.

Methodology

Research in inbred strains of mice has previously shown distinct variations in the pattern of slow wave sleep between some strains. This study investigated differences in circadian slow wave sleep and activity patterns in three inbred strains of rats previously used in sequencing the rat genome. If a difference in the pattern of slow wave sleep and activity was found, then a dissection of the multigenic basis of the neurophysiological mechanisms involved in the control of slow wave sleep and behavior could then be explored using consomic (chromosomal substitution) rat panels.

In Brown Norway (BN/mcw), Dahl Salt Sensitive (SS), and Fawn Hooded (FH) inbred rats, movement and slow wave sleep were measured continuously for three days in an environmental controlled chambers in which temperature and humidity were held within a limited operating range. Slow wave sleep was determined from electroencephalograph electrodes attached to the skull and electromyograph electrodes in the neck muscles of the rat. The percent of slow wave sleep (percent of SWS; SWS bout length relative to rest
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Contact: Donna Krupa
djkrupa1@aol.com
703-527-7357
American Physiological Society
19-Apr-2004

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