| Stress induced anxiety is generally seen as one of the major causes of sleep disorders. Persistent sleep dysregulate will lead to lots of emotional and cognitive impairment。 Reports suggest the laterodorsal tegmentum (LDT) plays an important role in sleep, especially with regard to rapid eye-movement (REM) episode, which might be potential target for stress induced sleep disorders. Our previous findings support many anxiety-related changes, including hormonal changes, physiological manifestations and behavioral alteration, occurred during or after the activation of GABAergic transmission in the LDT. Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF or CRH) is the major stress response hormone in central nervous system, which could alter stress behavior and sleep structure independent of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and express in the LDT. Thus, we assume that it is CRF neurons in the LDT involved in the regulating of anxiety and sleep at the same time. Firstly, we use the multi-channel electrophysiology in vivo verified the existing of functional neurons in LDT related to stress response and REM sleep. Secondly, we identified distribution of CRF neurons of CRH-ires-CRE x Ai32 transgenic mice, and uncovered the CRF co-expressing of CaMKII in nucleus include LDT. And last, we tried to examine LDT CRF neurons behavioral output by optogenetics. Behavioral outcome shows both entry into open field center and locomotion declined during LDT CRF neurons activation. Multiple tests yet to be executed to obtain a clear definition. This study provide valuable reference for the further study of CRF in neural circuits of anxiety and sleep, as well as the function of CRF neurons in LDT. |
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