Role of basal ganglia in sleep-wake regulation: neural circuitry and clinical significance

Abstract

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Researchers over the last decade have made substantial progress towards understanding the roles of dopamine and the basal ganglia in the control of sleep-wake behavior. In this review, we outline recent advancements regarding dopaminergic modulation of sleep through the basal ganglia (BG) and extra-BG sites. Our main hypothesis is that dopamine promotes sleep by its action on the D2 receptors in the BG and promotes wakefulness by its action on D1 and D2 receptors in the extra-BG sites. This hypothesis implicates dopamine depletion in the BG (such as in Parkinson’s disease) in causing frequent nighttime arousal and overall insomnia. Furthermore, the arousal effects of psychostimulants (methamphetamine, cocaine and modafinil) may be linked to the ventral periaquductal grey (vPAG) dopaminergic circuitry targeting the extra-BG sleep-wake network.

Keywords

• Dopamine
• Globus Pallidus
• Parkinson's disease
• insomnia
• Psychostimulants
• D2 receptors