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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Neurosci.
Sec. Sleep and Circadian Rhythms
Volume 18 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1431407
This article is part of the Research Topic Signaling Pathways and Brain Circuitry Underlying Circadian Rhythms and Sleep View all 4 articles

A predictive propensity measure to enter REM sleep

Provisionally accepted
Alexander G. Ginsberg Alexander G. Ginsberg 1*Madelyn E. Cruz Madelyn E. Cruz 2Franz Weber Franz Weber 3Victoria Booth Victoria Booth 2*Cecilia G. Diniz Behn Cecilia G. Diniz Behn 4,5*
  • 1 The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
  • 2 University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States
  • 3 University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
  • 4 Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado, United States
  • 5 University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    During sleep periods, most mammals alternate multiple times between rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep and non-REM (NREM) sleep. A common theory proposes that these transitions are governed by an "hourglass-like" homeostatic need to enter REM sleep that accumulates during the inter-REM interval and partially discharges during REM sleep. However, markers or mechanisms for REM homeostatic pressure remain undetermined. Recently, an analysis of sleep in mice demonstrated that the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of the amount of NREM sleep between REM bouts correlates with REM bout duration, suggesting that time in NREM sleep influences REM sleep need. Here, we build on those results and construct a predictive measure for the propensity to enter REM sleep as a function of time in NREM sleep since the previous REM episode. The REM propensity measure is precisely defined as the probability to enter REM sleep before the accumulation of an additional pre-specified amount of NREM sleep. Analyzing spontaneous sleep in mice, we find that, as NREM sleep accumulates between REM bouts, the REM propensity exhibits a peak value and then decays to zero with further NREM accumulation.We show that the REM propensity at REM onset predicts features of the subsequent REM bout under certain conditions. Specifically, during the light phase and for REM propensities occurring before the peak in propensity, the REM propensity at REM onset is correlated with REM bout duration, and with the probability of the occurrence of a short REM cycle called a sequential REM cycle. Further, we also find that proportionally more REM sleep occurs during sequential REM cycles, supporting a correlation between high values of our REM propensity measure and high REM sleep need. These results support the theory that a homeostatic need to enter REM sleep accrues during NREM sleep, but only for a limited range of NREM sleep accumulation.

    Keywords: sleep cycle, NREM-REM cycles, Ultradian rhythms, Sequential REM episodes, REM pressure, hourglass process

    Received: 11 May 2024; Accepted: 07 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Ginsberg, Cruz, Weber, Booth and Diniz Behn. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Alexander G. Ginsberg, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, 84112, Utah, United States
    Victoria Booth, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States
    Cecilia G. Diniz Behn, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, 80401, Colorado, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.