2003 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Possibility that nitric oxide has a role in the regulation of sleep and consciousness
| Project/Area Number |
14570950
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Psychiatric science
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| Research Institution | Osaka Medical College |
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Principal Investigator |
MATSUMURA Hitoshi Osaka Medical College, Faculty of Medicine, Assistant Professor, 医学部, 講師 (50173886)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
EMURA Narutsugu Osaka Medical College, Assistant, 医学部, 助手 (20247860)
KURODA Kenji Osaka Medical College, Associate Professor, 医学部, 助教授 (20170128)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2002 – 2003
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| Keywords | nitric oxide / brain / REM sleep / consciousness / microdialysis |
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| Research Abstract |
The head investigator of this research project and his coworkers found that N^6-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), increased REM sleep when administered to the diencephalon of a rat. On the other hand, NOC 12, a nitric oxide (NO) donor compound, decreased REM sleep when administered to the same region. Based on these and other results, we assumed that NO has a role in the diencephalon to regulate REM sleep. It might be further conceived that NO is involved in pathophysiology of altered consciousness and attentional disturbances. However, it is still obscure whether the REM sleep changes were attributed to quantitative changes in NO in the diencephalon or some other unknown effects of L-NAME and NOC 12. Therefore, we investigated in this project whether the level of NO in the diencephalon changes along with a circadian sleep-wake rhythm and whether L-NAME causes a decrease in the level of NO in the diencephalon. We performed surgical operation to rats to implant electrodes to record EEG, EMG and EOG (electrooculogram) and two microdialysis probes to measure the level of NO in the diencephalon and to administer L-NAME to the same region. After full recovery from the surgery for 1 week, electrodes and microdialysis probes of each rat were connected to respective equipments. The level of NO in the rat diencephalon indicated a circadian rhythm, high during night, active period of rats, and low during day when rats spend time sleeping. When L-NAME was administered to the diencephalon, the level of NO showed a decrease. Our results supported the hypothesis that NO in the diencephalon is involved in the regulation of REM sleep. It remains to be studied whether NO is also involved in pathophysiology of altered consciousness and attentional disturbances.
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[Publications] Ueda S, Kuroda K, Emura N, Urakami T, Satani S, Mandai M, Hori T, Uemura N, Fujita C, Nishida T, Matsumura H: "Effects of quazepam (Doral【○!R】) on insomnia of patients with mood disorders.[Japanese]"Progress in Medicine. 22(8). 1925-1931 (2002)
Description
「研究成果報告書概要(欧文)」より
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