Adenosinergic regulation of sleep-wake behavior in the basal ganglia

Abstract

Sleep is the most mysterious brain function and seems to exist in all organisms that have a central nervous system. Human sleep habits are unique, because we often defy sleep and stay awake for occupational and recreational reasons or other life-style choices, despite experiencing fatigue during that time. The motivation to stay awake and active in modern societies is increasing and often accompanied by the use of psychoactive substances, most prominently caffeine. The basal ganglia (BG) consists of subcortical nuclei involved in motor function, habit formation, and reward/addictive behaviors and play a key role in mediating the arousal effect of caffeine. The identification of neural circuits through which the BG integrates fundamental striatal functions with arousal is a rapidly growing field in neurobiology. In this chapter, we discuss mechanistic models of sleep-wake regulation for the BG and propose that the nucleus accumbens is a key node between emotive behaviors and the circuitry for sleep and wakefulness.