睡眠觉醒发育及生命早期REM睡眠的调节和功能

睡眠最初出现多为快动眼睡眠，非快动眼睡眠很少。睡眠在足月儿每日需16-18小时，昼夜均匀分布，快动眼与非快动眼睡眠各占50%。1岁时快动眼睡眠降为20%，非快动眼睡眠上升为80%。已有研究提示睡眠发育与脑结构及功能发育对应，多数动物早期睡眠特性和转换与人类相似。但睡眠觉醒的发育过程，早期快动眼睡眠对脑发育的作用和意义，以及睡眠觉醒周期昼夜节律形成的关键及时间仍不明。本项目将利用幼年大鼠睡眠觉醒时相解析系统，结合神经解剖、行为学评价、药理和物理学快动眼睡眠剥夺、神经核团损毁和通路阻断等手段，从细胞到整体行为揭示睡眠觉醒形成和发育规律以及关键神经结构基础；光照刺激和视交叉上核在睡眠觉醒周期昼夜节律形成中的作用；生命早期快动眼睡眠调控中枢部位，快动眼睡眠剥夺对成年大鼠认知、情绪行为、睡眠觉醒周期和关键脑结构的影响。预期结果将丰富睡眠觉醒周期发育和调节理论，为新生儿的护理和条件干预提供理论基础。

When sleep patterns first appear in gestational age, most of the sleep cycle is rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, with little non-REM (NREM) sleep. Sleep in the term neonates is daily spend 16-18 h, as much during the night as during the day, and about equal REM and NREM in sleep cycle. In the one year old infants, REM developmentally decreases to 20% of the sleep cycle, meanwhile, NREM increases up to 80%. It has been reported that the sleep development is correspondence with the development of the brain structures and physiological function. The sleep characteristics and transitions in early animal life are similar to those of humans. However, the sleep developmental process, the role and function of early REM sleep involved in brain development, and the key component and exact time of the formation of 24-h clock-like circadian in sleep-wake cycle are unclear. A synthesized method including an analysis of sleep-wake states in infant rats, neuroanatomy, behavioral evaluation, REM sleep deprived by pharmacological and physical methods, and specific lesion of the key nuclei and pathway involved in sleep-wake regulation will be employed in the proposal project to reveal the formation of sleep states, the regular pattern of sleep-wake development, and the fundamental brain structures involved in sleep development. The project will also investigate the role of light and the suprachiasmatic nuclei in the formation of circadian rhythms in sleep-wake cycle, and the key brain structure involved in REM regulation in early life, and early REM deprivation-induced the influence on cognition, emotional behavior, sleep-wake cycle and crucial brain structure in adult. The outcome of the project will provide new insight into sleep-wake development and regulation, and fundamental theories for neonatal care and conditional interposition to preterm and term infants.