Sleep-wakefulness patterns in the aged cat

Behavior and Cognition of the Senior Cat and Its Interaction with Physical Disease

In cats, age-related pathologic condition and neurologic degeneration can produce changes in activity, vocalization, appearance, appetite, litter box use, sleep-wake cycle, personality, and cognitive ability. These changes can influence the relationship between owner and pet. Although cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS) can cause altered behavior later in life, other medical or behavioral causes may mimic these clinical signs or complicate diagnosis. Management and treatment of CDS can be accomplished through pharmacologic intervention, diet and nutritional supplementation, and environmental enrichment aimed at slowing the progression of the disease.

Sleep and cognition in aging dogs. A polysomnographic study

Introduction

Sleep is fundamental for cognitive homeostasis, especially in senior populations since clearance of amyloid beta (key in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease) occurs during sleep. Some electroencephalographic characteristics of sleep and wakefulness have been considered a hallmark of dementia. Owners of dogs with canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome (a canine analog to Alzheimer's disease) report that their dogs suffer from difficulty sleeping. The aim of this study was to quantify age-related changes in the sleep-wakefulness cycle macrostructure and electroencephalographic features in senior dogs and to correlate them with their cognitive performance.

Methods

We performed polysomnographic recordings in 28 senior dogs during a 2 h afternoon nap. Percentage of time spent in wakefulness, drowsiness, NREM, and REM sleep, as well as latency to the three sleep states were calculated. Spectral power, coherence, and Lempel Ziv Complexity of the brain oscillations were estimated. Finally, cognitive performance was evaluated by means of the Canine Dementia Scale Questionnaire and a battery of cognitive tests. Correlations between age, cognitive performance and sleep-wakefulness cycle macrostructure and electroencephalographic features were calculated.

Results

Dogs with higher dementia scores and with worse performance in a problem-solving task spent less time in NREM and REM sleep. Additionally, quantitative electroencephalographic analyses showed differences in dogs associated with age or cognitive performance, some of them reflecting shallower sleep in more affected dogs.

Discussion

Polysomnographic recordings in dogs can detect sleep-wakefulness cycle changes associated with dementia. Further studies should evaluate polysomnography's potential clinical use to monitor the progression of canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome.

Sex- and Age-dependent Differences in Sleep-wake Characteristics of Fisher-344 Rats

Aging is a well-recognized risk factor for sleep disruption. The characteristics of sleep in aging include its disruption by frequent awakenings, a decline in both non-rapid eye movement (nonREM) and REM sleep amounts, and a weaker homeostatic response to sleep loss. Evidence also suggests that sleep in females is more sensitive to changes in the ovarian steroidal milieu. The Fischer-344 rats are commonly used experimental subjects in behavioral and physiological studies, including sleep and aging. Most sleep studies in Fischer-344 rats have used male subjects to avoid interactions between the estrus and sleep-waking cycles. The changes in the sleep-wake organization of female Fischer-344 rats, especially with advancing age, are not well-characterized. We determined sleep-waking features of cycling females across estrus stages. We also compared spontaneous and homeostatic sleep response profiles of young (3-4 months) and old (24-25 months) male and female Fischer-344 rats. The results suggest that: i) sleep-wake architectures across stages of estrus cycle in young females were largely comparable except for a significant suppression of REM sleep at proestrus night and an increase in REM sleep the following day; ii) despite hormonal differences, sleep-wake architecture in male and female rats of corresponding ages were comparable except for the suppression of REM sleep at proestrus night and higher nonREM delta power in recovery sleep; and iii) aging significantly affected sleep-wake amounts, sleep-wake stability, and homeostatic response to sleep loss in both male and female rats and that the adverse effects of aging were largely comparable in both sexes.

Declined contrast sensitivity of neurons along the visual pathway in aging cats

Changes in the visual cortex appear to mediate much of the visual degradation during normal aging. However, how aging affects different stages along the visual pathway is unclear. In the current study, the contrast response function, one of the most important properties of neurons from early visual areas to high brain areas, was systematically compared along the visual pathway, including the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), early visual cortices (A17 and A18), and posteromedial lateral suprasylvian cortex (PMLS, analog to the medial temporal area (MT) in monkeys) of young and old cats. We found that the effects of aging on the LGN were negligible, whereas those in the striate cortex were substantial, with even more severe degradation in the PMLS. Reduced contrast sensitivity of neurons in the three cortical areas was accompanied by enhanced maximal visual response, increased spontaneous activity, and decreased signal-to-noise ratio, while LGN neurons exhibited largely normal response properties. Our results suggested that there was a progressively greater effect of aging on neurons at successively higher stages in the visual pathway.

Long-term synchronized electrophysiological and behavioral wireless monitoring of freely moving animals

Parallel electrophysiological recording and behavioral monitoring of freely moving animals is essential for a better understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying behavior. In this paper we describe a novel wireless recording technique, which is capable of synchronously recording in vivo multichannel electrophysiological (LFP, MUA, EOG, EMG) and activity data (accelerometer, video) from freely moving cats. The method is based on the integration of commercially available components into a simple monitoring system and is complete with accelerometers and the needed signal processing tools. LFP activities of freely moving group-housed cats were recorded from multiple intracortical areas and from the hippocampus. EMG, EOG, accelerometer and video were simultaneously acquired with LFP activities 24-h a day for 3 months. These recordings confirm the possibility of using our wireless method for 24-h long-term monitoring of neurophysiological and behavioral data of freely moving experimental animals such as cats, ferrets, rabbits and other large animals.

Distinct retinohypothalamic innervation patterns predict the developmental emergence of species-typical circadian phase preference in nocturnal Norway rats and diurnal nile grass rats

How does the brain develop differently to support nocturnality in some mammals, but diurnality in others? To answer this question, one might look to the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), which is entrained by light via the retinohypothalamic tract (RHT). However, because the SCN is more active during the day in all mammals studied thus far, it alone cannot determine circadian phase preference. In adult Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus), which are nocturnal, the RHT also projects to the ventral subparaventricular zone (vSPVZ), an adjacent region that expresses an in-phase pattern of SCN-vSPVZ neuronal activity. In contrast, in adult Nile grass rats (Arvicanthis niloticus), which are diurnal, an anti-phase pattern of SCN-vSPVZ neuronal activity is expressed. We hypothesized that these species differences result in part from a weak or absent RHT-to-vSPVZ projection in grass rats. Here, using a developmental comparative approach, we assessed species differences in behavior, hypothalamic activity, and RHT anatomy. We report that a robust retina-to-vSPVZ projection develops in Norway rats around the end of the second postnatal week when nocturnal wakefulness and the in-phase pattern of neuronal activity emerge. In grass rats, however, such a projection does not develop and the emergence of the anti-phase pattern during the second postnatal week is accompanied by increased diurnal wakefulness. When considered within the context of previously published reports on RHT projections in a variety of species, the current findings suggest that how and when the retina connects to the hypothalamus differentially shapes brain and behavior to produce animals that occupy opposing temporal niches.

Functional degradation of visual cortical cells in old cats

Visual function declines with age. Using extracellular single-unit in vivo recordings, we compared the function of primary visual cortical (area 17) cells in young and old paralyzed, anesthetized cats. The results reveal that cortical neurons in old cats exhibit higher visually evoked responses, higher spontaneous activities, lower signal-to-noise ratios, and weaker orientation and direction selectivity than do cells in young adult cats. These findings are consistent with previously reported age related declines in cortical function in senescent macaque monkeys. Thus, similar declines in cortical function accompany old age in different mammalian species with well developed cortices.

The diurnal rhythm of hypocretin in young and old F344 rats

STUDY OBJECTIVES

Hypocretins (HCRT-1 and HCRT-2), also known as orexins, are neuropeptides localized in neurons surrounding the perifornical region of the posterior hypothalamus. These neurons project to major arousal centers in the brain and are implicated in regulating wakefulness. In young rats and monkeys, levels of HCRT-1 are highest at the end of the wake-active period and lowest toward the end of the sleep period. However, the effects of age on the diurnal rhythm of HCRT-1 are not known.

DESIGN

To provide such data, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was collected from the cisterna magna of young (2-month-old, n = 9), middle-aged (12 months, n = 10), and old (24 months, n = 10) F344 rats at 4-hour intervals, (beginning at zeitgeber [ZT]0, lights on). CSF was collected once from each rat every 4 days at 1 ZT point. After collecting the CSF at all of the time points, the rats were kept awake by gentle handling for 8 hours (ZT 0-ZT8), and the CSF was collected again at the end of the sleep-deprivation procedure. HCRT-1 levels in the CSF were determined by radioimmunoassay

SETTINGS

Basic neuroscience research lab.

MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS

Old rats had significantly less HCRT-1 in the CSF versus young and middle-aged rats (P < .002) during the lights-on and lights-off periods and over the 24-hour period. In old rats, significantly low levels of HCRT-1 were evident at the end of the lights-off period (predominantly wake-active period). The old rats continued to have less HCRT-1 even after 8 hours of prolonged waking. Northern blot analysis did not show a difference in pre-proHCRT mRNA between age groups.

CONCLUSIONS

In old rats there is a 10% decline in CSF HCRT-1 over the 24-hour period. Functionally, if there is less HCRT-1, which our findings indicated, and there is also a decline in HCRT receptor mRNA, as has been previously found, then the overall consequence would be diminished action of HCRT at target sites. This would diminish the waking drive, which in the elderly could contribute to the increased tendency to fall asleep during the normal wake period.

Compensatory sleep response to 12 h wakefulness in young and old rats

There is a pronounced decline in sleep with age. Diminished output from the circadian oscillator, the suprachiasmatic nucleus, might play a role, because there is a decrease in the amplitude of the day-night sleep rhythm in the elderly. However, sleep is also regulated by homeostatic mechanisms that build sleep drive during wakefulness, and a decline in these mechanisms could also decrease sleep. Because this question has never been addressed in old animals, the present study examined the effects of 12 h wakefulness on compensatory sleep response in young (3.5 mo) and old (21.5 mo) Sprague-Dawley and F344 rats. Old rats in both strains had a diminished compensatory increase in slow-wave sleep (SWS) after 12 h of wakefulness (0700-1900, light-on period) compared with the young rats. In contrast, compensatory REM sleep rebound was unaffected by age. To assess whether the reduced SWS rebound in old rats might result from loss of neurons implicated in sleep generation, we counted the number of c-Fos immunoreactive (c-Fos-ir) cells in the ventral lateral preoptic (VLPO) area and found no differences between young and old rats. These findings indicate that old rats, similar to elderly humans, demonstrate less sleep after prolonged wakefulness. The findings also indicate that although old rats have a decline in sleep, this cannot be attributed to loss of VLPO neurons implicated in sleep.

Circadian and individual variations in duration of spontaneous activity among ankle muscles of the cat

This article concerns the spontaneous motor behavior of cat hindlimb muscles and muscle regions using 24-h electromyographic (EMG) recordings. Previously, we found marked differences in average daily "duty time" (i.e., the percentage of total sampling time filled with EMG activity) between different muscles, or muscle portions. We have now analyzed systematic differences in duty time between (i) highly active (midday) and relatively inactive (midnight) periods, and (ii) individual cats. Differences between cats seemed to be associated with differences in motor habits. The midnight reduction in activity was particularly striking for muscles with a high midday activity. Quantitative differences in spontaneous activity (duty time), as compared between active and inactive periods of the day or among individual cats, were associated with marked qualitative alterations in the distribution of activity among the sampled muscles, i.e., these quantitative differences could not be described as a simple up- or downscaling of general motor activity.

Enhancement of REM sleep with auditory stimulation in young and old rats

Auditory stimulation applied during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep enhances the duration of REM sleep in cats and humans. The present experiment investigated whether auditory stimulation would enhance REM sleep in young (3-6 months) rats, and also in old (22-24 months) rats which have impaired REM sleep. Baseline sleep records were obtained on two days. Sleep patterns were then assessed during auditory stimulation test sessions. In young rats, auditory stimulation was administered during each REM sleep bout. In old rats, auditory stimulation was administered on a fixed schedule (10 min of stimulation alternating with 15 min quiet). The day after the stimulation session, an additional sleep record (Day 2) was obtained for each rat. In young rats, auditory stimulation enhanced both REM sleep duration and total REM sleep time. In the old rats, which showed impaired sleep measures as compared to young animals, auditory stimulation enhanced both total REM sleep time and the number of REM sleep periods. Residual proactive effects of auditory stimulation (Day 2) were observed in both young and old rats. Thus, auditory stimulation is an effective manipulation with which to augment REM sleep in both young and old rats, and partially attenuates REM sleep impairments in old rats.

Sleep and EEG slow-wave activity in the domestic cat: effect of sleep deprivation

The 24-h sleep-wake distribution, the vigilance states and the time course of EEG slow-wave activity was investigated in 8 adult domestic cats individually maintained in isolation under 14-h light (06.00-20.00 h)/10-h dim conditions. The frontal EEG and motor activity were continuously recorded for 22 h (during the daily cleaning and food-replenishing period between 07.00 and 09.00 h the cats were only observed). Sleep was prevented for 14 h (07.00-21.00 h) by playing with the animals. Recovery from sleep deprivation was recorded for the remaining 10 h of the dim period. Non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep, REM sleep and waking were uniformly distributed over the light and dim period, with the exception of the 2-h feeding period where the cats were always awake. EEG power density in the delta band (0.75-4.5 Hz; slow-wave activity) was computed in non-REM sleep. The values in the light period were higher than in the dim period. In neither of the lighting periods was a trend observed. After sleep deprivation a small increase of non-REM sleep and REM sleep was present. EEG slow-wave activity was initially enhanced and then declined progressively. We conclude that despite the small circadian difference in the sleep-wake pattern observed in our cats, sleep homeostasis is similar to that observed in other mammalian species.

The influence of ambient temperature on sleep characteristics in the aged cat

Sleep characteristics were compared in young adult and aged cats over a range of environmental temperatures from 5 to 35 degrees C. Although both groups exhibited sleep disruptions as ambient temperatures decreased, transient arousals were increased at temperature extremes in the aged group compared to young adults. Declining efficiency of thermoregulatory control and increased sensitivity to environmental temperature in the elderly may contribute to the changes in sleep quality which occur during the aging process.

Circadian, sleep and brain temperature rhythms in cats under sustained daily light-dark cycles and constant darkness

In adult cats, sleep-wake states and brain temperatures were determined under experimental LD cycles and prolonged DD. Convincing rhythms had not previously been well-established for this animal. The present results demonstrated daily fluctuation in total sleep time (TST) and in brain temperature (Tb). These comprise predominantly nocturnal wakefulness and high temperatures but include a bi-modal component marking dawn and dusk peaks. In addition there are ultradian variations with a period of 2-4 hour superimposed on the circadian rhythm. The latter continued at the beginning of prolonged DD, but gradually diminished and disappeared after about ten days. The TST circadian rhythm diminished more quickly than the Tb rhythm. This result suggests that the former is coupled more strongly to the circadian oscillator than the latter, and that the brain temperature rhythm could not depend on the circadian rhythm of sleep-wakefulness. These results encourage use of cats in further chronobiological studies of sleep and other physiological rhythms.

EEG spindle activity as a function of age: relationship to sleep continuity

This study assessed sleep spindle activity and its relationship to transient EEG activation in young adult and aged cats. Sleep-wake variables were monitored polygraphically for 12 h in 5 young adult (2-4 years) and five aged (9-11 years) animals. Recordings were scored for behavioral state. Then, using bandpass frequency analysis, sensorimotor cortical spindles were evaluated in three, 5-min segments of the NREM sleep EEG. Both the incidence of transient arousals (TA) and spindle (much greater than 25 microV) densities were significantly higher in the aged animals than in the young adults. In the young animals only, spindle densities reliably predicted the incidence of TAs. We suggest that spindle expression varies in relation to ascending reticular activating system tone, constituting a functionally-inhibitory thalamocortical response to neurophysiological conditions which promote central activation.