Localized suppression of cortical growth hormone-releasing hormone receptors state-specifically attenuates electroencephalographic delta waves

Tripping on the edge of consciousness

Herein the major accomplishments, trials and tribulations, and epiphanies experienced by James M. Krueger over the course of his career in sleep research are presented. They include the characterization of a) the supranormal EEG delta waves occurring during NREMS post sleep loss, b) Factor S as a muramyl peptide, c) the physiological roles of cytokines in sleep regulation, d) multiple other sleep regulatory substances, e) the dramatic changes in sleep over the course of infectious diseases, and f) sleep initiation within small neuronal/glial networks. The theory that the preservation of brain plasticity is the primordial sleep function is briefly discussed. These accomplishments resulted from collaborations with many outstanding scientists including James M. Krueger's mentors (John Pappenheimer and Manfred Karnovsky) and collaborators later in life, including Charles Dinarello, Louis Chedid, Mark Opp, Ferenc Obal jr., Dave Rector, Ping Taishi, Linda Toth, Jeannine Majde, Levente Kapas, Eva Szentirmai, Jidong Fang, Chris Davis, Sandip Roy, Tetsuya Kushikata, Fabio Garcia-Garcia, Ilia Karatsoreos, Mark Zielinski, and Alok De, plus many students, e.g. Jeremy Alt, Kathryn Jewett, Erika English, and Victor Leyva-Grado.

Local sleep

The historic sleep regulatory paradigm invokes "top-down" imposition of sleep on the brain by sleep regulatory circuits. While remaining conceptually useful, many sleep phenomena are difficult to explain using that paradigm, including, unilateral sleep, sleep-walking, and poor performance after sleep deprivation. Further, all animals sleep after non-lethal brain lesions, regardless of whether the lesion includes sleep regulatory circuits, suggesting that sleep is a fundamental property of small viable neuronal/glial networks. That small areas of the brain can exhibit non-rapid eye movement sleep-like states is summarized. Further, sleep-like states in neuronal/glial cultures are described. The local sleep states, whether in vivo or in vitro, share electrophysiological properties and molecular regulatory components with whole animal sleep and exhibit sleep homeostasis. The molecular regulatory components of sleep are also involved in plasticity and inflammation. Like sleep, these processes, are initiated by local cell-activity dependent events, yet have at higher levels of tissue organization whole body functions. While there are large literatures dealing with local initiation and regulation of plasticity and inflammation, the literature surrounding local sleep is in its infancy and clinical applications of the local sleep concept are absent. Regardless, the local use-dependent sleep paradigm can advise and advance future research and clinical applications.

Altered sleep patterns in patients with non-functional GHRH receptor

OBJECTIVES

GH-releasing hormone (GHRH) exerts hypnotic actions increasing the non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. Conversely, GH stimulates the REM sleep. GH deficiency (GHD) often leads to sleep problems, daytime fatigue and reduced quality of life (QoL). GHD may be due to lack of hypothalamic GHRH or destruction of somatotroph cells. We have described a cohort with isolated GHD (IGHD) due to GHRH resistance caused by a homozygous null mutation (c.57 + 1G > A) in the GHRH receptor gene. They have normal QoL and no obvious complaints of chronic tiredness. The aim of this study was to determine the sleep quality in these subjects.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was carried out in 21 adult IGHD subjects, and 21 age- and gender-matched controls. Objective sleep assessment included polygraphic records of the awake, stages NREM [N1 (drowsiness), N2 and N3 (already sleeping)] and REM (R). Subjective evaluation included the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Insomnia Severity Index and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale.

RESULTS

IGHD subjects showed a reduction in sleep efficiency (P = 0.007), total sleep time (P = 0.028), duration of N2 and R in minutes (P = 0.026 and P = 0.046 respectively), but had increased duration and percentage of N1 stage (P = 0.029 and P = 0.022 respectively), wake (P = 0.007) and wake-time after sleep onset (P = 0.017). There was no difference in N3 or in sleep quality questionnaire scores.

CONCLUSION

Patients with IGHD due to GHRH resistance exhibit objective reduction in the sleep quality, with changes in NREM and REM sleep, with no detectable subjective consequences. GHRH resistance seems to have a preponderant role over GHD in the sleep quality of these subjects.

Ca2+-dependent hyperpolarization hypothesis for mammalian sleep

The detailed molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of sleep/wake cycles in mammals are elusive. In this regulation, at least two mechanisms with fast and slow time scales are involved. In the faster time scale, a state of non-rapid-eye-movement (NREM) sleep can be microscopically characterized by the millisecond-to-second-order electrical behavior of neurons, namely slow-wave oscillations described by electrophysiology. In the slower time scale, the total duration of NREM sleep is homeostatically regulated by sleep pressure (the need for sleep), which is usually sustained for hours or even days and can be macroscopically described by electroencephalogram (EEG). The longer dynamics of sleep regulation are often explained by the accumulation of sleep-inducing substances (SISs). However, we still do not have a concrete model to connect fast, microscopic dynamics and slow, macroscopic dynamics. In this review, we introduce a recent Ca²⁺-dependent hyperpolarization hypothesis, in which the Ca²⁺-dependent hyperpolarization of cortical-membrane potential induces slow-wave oscillation. Slow dynamics of the Ca²⁺-dependent hyperpolarization pathway might be regulated by recently identified sleep-promoting kinases as well as classical SISs. Therefore, cortical Ca²⁺-dependent hyperpolarization may be a fundamental mechanism connecting fast neural activity to the slow dynamics of sleep pressure.

Effects of growth hormone-releasing hormone on sleep and brain interstitial fluid amyloid-β in an APP transgenic mouse model

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by impairment of cognitive function, extracellular amyloid plaques, intracellular neurofibrillary tangles, and synaptic and neuronal loss. There is substantial evidence that the aggregation of amyloid β (Aβ) in the brain plays a key role in the pathogenesis of AD and that Aβ aggregation is a concentration dependent process. Recently, it was found that Aβ levels in the brain interstitial fluid (ISF) are regulated by the sleep-wake cycle in both humans and mice; ISF Aβ is higher during wakefulness and lower during sleep. Intracerebroventricular infusion of orexin increased wakefulness and ISF Aβ levels, and chronic sleep deprivation significantly increased Aβ plaque formation in amyloid precursor protein transgenic (APP) mice. Growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) is a well-documented sleep regulatory substance which promotes non-rapid eye movement sleep. GHRHR(lit/lit) mice that lack functional GHRH receptor have shorter sleep duration and longer wakefulness during light periods. The current study was undertaken to determine whether manipulating sleep by interfering with GHRH signaling affects brain ISF Aβ levels in APPswe/PS1ΔE9 (PS1APP) transgenic mice that overexpress mutant forms of APP and PSEN1 that cause autosomal dominant AD. We found that intraperitoneal injection of GHRH at dark onset increased sleep and decreased ISF Aβ and that delivery of a GHRH antagonist via reverse-microdialysis suppressed sleep and increased ISF Aβ. The diurnal fluctuation of ISF Aβ in PS1APP/GHRHR(lit/lit) mice was significantly smaller than that in PS1APP/GHRHR(lit/+) mice. However despite decreased sleep in GHRHR deficient mice, this was not associated with an increase in Aβ accumulation later in life. One of several possibilities for the finding is the fact that GHRHR deficient mice have GHRH-dependent but sleep-independent factors which protect against Aβ deposition.

The neuron-specific interleukin-1 receptor accessory protein is required for homeostatic sleep and sleep responses to influenza viral challenge in mice

Interleukin-1β (IL1) is involved in sleep regulation and sleep responses induced by influenza virus. The IL1 receptor accessory protein (AcP) and an alternatively spliced isoform of AcP found primarily in neurons, AcPb, form part of the IL1 signaling complex. IL1-induced sleep responses depend on injection time. In rat cortex, both IL1 mRNA and AcPb mRNA peak at Zeitgeber Time (ZT) 0 then decline over the daylight hours. Sleep deprivation enhances cortical IL1 mRNA and AcPb mRNA levels, but not AcP mRNA. We used wild type (WT) and AcPb knockout (KO) mice and performed sleep deprivation between ZT10 and 20 or between ZT22 and 8 based on the time of day expression profiles of AcPb and IL1. We hypothesized that the magnitude of the responses to sleep loss would be strain- and time of day-dependent. In WT mice, NREMS and REMS rebounds occurred regardless of when they were deprived of sleep. In contrast, when AcPbKO mice were sleep deprived from ZT10 to 20 NREMS and REMS rebounds were absent. The AcPbKO mice expressed sleep rebound if sleep loss occurred from ZT22 to 8 although the NREMS responses were not as robust as those that occurred in WT mice. We also challenged mice with intranasal H1N1 influenza virus. WT mice exhibited the expected enhanced sleep responses. In contrast, the AcPbKO mice had less sleep after influenza challenge compared to their own baseline values and compared to WT mice. Body temperature and locomotor activity responses after viral challenge were lower and mortality was higher in AcPbKO than in WT mice. We conclude that neuron-specific AcPb plays a critical role in host defenses and sleep homeostasis.

Neuropeptidergic control of sleep and wakefulness

Sleep and wake are fundamental behavioral states whose molecular regulation remains mysterious. Brain states and body functions change dramatically between sleep and wake, are regulated by circadian and homeostatic processes, and depend on the nutritional and emotional condition of the animal. Sleep-wake transitions require the coordination of several brain regions and engage multiple neurochemical systems, including neuropeptides. Neuropeptides serve two main functions in sleep-wake regulation. First, they represent physiological states such as energy level or stress in response to environmental and internal stimuli. Second, neuropeptides excite or inhibit their target neurons to induce, stabilize, or switch between sleep-wake states. Thus, neuropeptides integrate physiological subsystems such as circadian time, previous neuron usage, energy homeostasis, and stress and growth status to generate appropriate sleep-wake behaviors. We review the roles of more than 20 neuropeptides in sleep and wake to lay the foundation for future studies uncovering the mechanisms that underlie the initiation, maintenance, and exit of sleep and wake states.

Time- and behavioral state-dependent changes in posterior hypothalamic GABAA receptors contribute to the regulation of sleep

Sleep-wake behavior is regulated by a circadian rhythm, homeostatically and by additional mechanisms that determine the timing of slow-wave sleep and rapid eye movement sleep (REMS) episodes. The posterior hypothalamus coordinates the neural and humoral signals with the rest-activity cycle. It contains wake-active neurons, and is a site where stimulation of inhibitory GABA_A receptors promotes sleep, whereas their antagonism enhances wakefulness. We explored whether GABAergic mechanisms present in the posterior hypothalamus contribute to the homeostatic and other aspects of sleep-wake regulation. Using micropunches of tissue extracted from either the perifornical (PF) or dorsomedial (DM) regions of the posterior hypothalamus of rats, we determined that mRNA levels for selected subunits of GABA_A receptors (β1, β3 and ε) were higher at the end of the active period or following sleep deprivation, when the need for sleep is high, than after several hours of sleep, when sleep need is partially fulfilled. Such a pattern was present in the PF region only, and was consistent with changes in β1 subunit and GABA synthesizing enzyme (GAD) protein levels. In contrast, in the DM region, the levels of GABA_A receptor subunit mRNAs and proteins (α1, α2, β1) and GAD varied with circadian time, but were not responsive to sleep deprivation. Separate experiments with sleep-wake monitoring and local perfusion of the PF region with the GABA_A receptor antagonist bicuculline revealed that the antagonist had a weaker sleep-reducing effect when sleep need was enhanced by sleep deprivation and that the increased amount of REMS characteristic of the late sleep period was dependent on endogenous GABAergic inhibition. These results support the concept that a varying magnitude of GABAergic inhibition exerted within the PF region contributes to the homeostatic regulation of sleep and shapes its temporal pattern, whereas GABAergic mechanisms in the DM region contribute to circadian regulation.

Growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH) signaling modulates intermittent hypoxia-induced oxidative stress and cognitive deficits in mouse

Intermittent hypoxia (IH) during sleep, such as occurs in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), leads to degenerative changes in the hippocampus, and is associated with spatial learning deficits in adult mice. In both patients and murine models of OSA, the disease is associated with suppression of growth hormone (GH) secretion, which is actively involved in the growth, development, and function of the central nervous system (CNS). Recent work showed that exogenous GH therapy attenuated neurocognitive deficits elicited by IH during sleep in rats. Here, we show that administration of the Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone (GHRH) agonist JI-34 attenuates IH-induced neurocognitive deficits, anxiety, and depression in mice along with reduction in oxidative stress markers such as MDA and 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine, and increases in hypoxia inducible factor-1α DNA binding and up-regulation of insulin growth factor-1 and erythropoietin expression. In contrast, treatment with a GHRH antagonist (MIA-602) during intermittent hypoxia did not affect any of the IH-induced deleterious effects in mice. Thus, exogenous GHRH administered as the formulation of a GHRH agonist may provide a viable therapeutic intervention to protect IH-vulnerable brain regions from OSA-associated neurocognitive dysfunction. Sleep apnea, characterized by chronic intermittent hypoxia (IH), is associated with substantial cognitive and behavioral deficits. Here, we show that administration of a GHRH agonist (JI-34) reduces oxidative stress, increases both HIF-1α nuclear binding and downstream expression of IGF1 and erythropoietin (EPO) in hippocampus and cortex, and markedly attenuates water maze performance deficits in mice exposed to intermittent hypoxia during sleep.

Knockdown of orexin type 2 receptor in the lateral pontomesencephalic tegmentum of rats increases REM sleep

Dysfunction of the orexin/hypocretin neurotransmitter system causes the sleep disorder narcolepsy, characterized by intrusion of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep-like events into normal wakefulness. The sites where orexins act to suppress REM sleep are incompletely understood. Previous studies suggested that the lateral pontomesencephalic tegmentum (lPMT) contains an important REM sleep inhibitory area, and proposed that orexins inhibit REM sleep via orexin type 2 receptors (OxR2) in this region. However, this hypothesis has heretofore not been tested. We thus performed bilateral injection of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) targeting Ox2R into the lPMT on two consecutive days. This led to a approximately 30% increase of time spent in REM sleep in both the dark and light periods for the first 2 days after injection, with a return to baseline over the next two post-injection days. This increase was mainly due to longer (> 120 s) REM episodes. Cataplexy-like episodes were not observed. The percentage of time spent in wakefulness and non-(N)REM sleep, as well as the power spectral profile of NREM and REM sleep, were unaffected. Control animals injected with scrambled siRNA had no sleep changes post-injection. Quantification of the knockdown revealed that unilateral microinjection of siRNAs targeting OxR2 into the lPMT induced a approximately 40% reduction of OxR2 mRNA 2 days following the injections when compared with the contralateral side receiving control (scrambled) siRNA. Orexin type 1 receptor mRNA level was unaffected. Our results indicate that removal of OxR2 neurotransmission in the lPMT enhances REM sleep by increasing the duration of REM episodes.

Control of sleep and wakefulness

This review summarizes the brain mechanisms controlling sleep and wakefulness. Wakefulness promoting systems cause low-voltage, fast activity in the electroencephalogram (EEG). Multiple interacting neurotransmitter systems in the brain stem, hypothalamus, and basal forebrain converge onto common effector systems in the thalamus and cortex. Sleep results from the inhibition of wake-promoting systems by homeostatic sleep factors such as adenosine and nitric oxide and GABAergic neurons in the preoptic area of the hypothalamus, resulting in large-amplitude, slow EEG oscillations. Local, activity-dependent factors modulate the amplitude and frequency of cortical slow oscillations. Non-rapid-eye-movement (NREM) sleep results in conservation of brain energy and facilitates memory consolidation through the modulation of synaptic weights. Rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep results from the interaction of brain stem cholinergic, aminergic, and GABAergic neurons which control the activity of glutamatergic reticular formation neurons leading to REM sleep phenomena such as muscle atonia, REMs, dreaming, and cortical activation. Strong activation of limbic regions during REM sleep suggests a role in regulation of emotion. Genetic studies suggest that brain mechanisms controlling waking and NREM sleep are strongly conserved throughout evolution, underscoring their enormous importance for brain function. Sleep disruption interferes with the normal restorative functions of NREM and REM sleep, resulting in disruptions of breathing and cardiovascular function, changes in emotional reactivity, and cognitive impairments in attention, memory, and decision making.

Sleep locally, act globally

In most animals, sleep is considered a global brain and behavioral state. However, recent intracortical recordings have shown that aspects of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep and wakefulness can occur simultaneously in different parts of the cortex in mammals, including humans. Paradoxically, however, NREM sleep still manifests as a global behavioral shutdown. In this review, the authors examine this paradox from an evolutionary perspective. On the basis of strategic modeling, they suggest that in animals with brains composed of heavily interconnected and functionally interdependent units, a global regulator of sleep maintains the behavioral shutdown that defines sleep and thereby ensures that local use-dependent functions are performed in a safe and efficient manner. This novel perspective has implications for understanding deficits in human cognitive performance resulting from sleep deprivation, sleep disorders such as sleepwalking, changes in consciousness that occur during sleep, and the function of sleep itself.

Time-of-day modulation of homeostatic and allostatic sleep responses to chronic sleep restriction in rats

To study sleep responses to chronic sleep restriction (CSR) and time-of-day influences on these responses, we developed a rat model of CSR that takes into account the polyphasic sleep patterns in rats. Adult male rats underwent cycles of 3 h of sleep deprivation (SD) and 1 h of sleep opportunity (SO) continuously for 4 days, beginning at the onset of the 12-h light phase ("3/1" protocol). Electroencephalogram (EEG) and electromyogram (EMG) recordings were made before, during, and after CSR. During CSR, total sleep time was reduced by ∼60% from baseline levels. Both rapid eye movement sleep (REMS) and non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREMS) during SO periods increased initially relative to baseline and remained elevated for the rest of the CSR period. In contrast, NREMS EEG delta power (a measure of sleep intensity) increased initially, but then declined gradually, in parallel with increases in high-frequency power in the NREMS EEG. The amplitude of daily rhythms in NREMS and REMS amounts was maintained during SO periods, whereas that of NREMS delta power was reduced. Compensatory responses during the 2-day post-CSR recovery period were either modest or negative and gated by time of day. NREMS, REMS, and EEG delta power lost during CSR were not recovered by the end of the second recovery day. Thus the "3/1" CSR protocol triggered both homeostatic responses (increased sleep amounts and intensity during SOs) and allostatic responses (gradual decline in sleep intensity during SOs and muted or negative post-CSR sleep recovery), and both responses were modulated by time of day.

Brain-specific interleukin-1 receptor accessory protein in sleep regulation

Interleukin (IL)-1β is involved in several brain functions, including sleep regulation. It promotes non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep via the IL-1 type I receptor. IL-1β/IL-1 receptor complex signaling requires adaptor proteins, e.g., the IL-1 receptor brain-specific accessory protein (AcPb). We have cloned and characterized rat AcPb, which shares substantial homologies with mouse AcPb and, compared with AcP, is preferentially expressed in the brain. Furthermore, rat somatosensory cortex AcPb mRNA varied across the day with sleep propensity, increased after sleep deprivation, and was induced by somnogenic doses of IL-1β. Duration of NREM sleep was slightly shorter and duration of REM sleep was slightly longer in AcPb knockout than wild-type mice. In response to lipopolysaccharide, which is used to induce IL-1β, sleep responses were exaggerated in AcPb knockout mice, suggesting that, in normal mice, inflammation-mediated sleep responses are attenuated by AcPb. We conclude that AcPb has a role in sleep responses to inflammatory stimuli and, possibly, in physiological sleep regulation.

TRANSLATION OF BRAIN ACTIVITY INTO SLEEP

Cytokines including tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF) play a role in sleep regulation in health and disease. Hypothalamic and cerebral cortical levels of TNF mRNA or TNF protein have diurnal variations with higher levels associated with greater sleep propensity. Sleep loss is associated with enhanced brain TNF. Central or systemic TNF injections enhance sleep. Inhibition of TNF using the soluble TNF receptor, or anti-TNF antibodies, or a TNF siRNA reduces spontaneous sleep. Mice lacking the TNF 55 kD receptor have less spontaneous sleep. Injection of TNF into sleep regulatory circuits, e.g. the hypothalamus, promotes sleep. In normal humans, plasma levels of TNF co-vary with EEG slow wave activity (SWA) and in multiple disease states plasma TNF increases in parallel with sleep propensity. Downstream mechanisms of TNF-enhanced sleep include nitric oxide, adenosine, prostaglandins and activation of nuclear factor kappa B. Neuronal use induces cortical neurons to express TNF and if applied directly to cortical columns TNF induces a functional sleep-like state within the column. TNF mechanistically has several synaptic functions. TNF-sleep data led to the idea that sleep is a fundamental property of neuronal/glial networks such as cortical columns and is dependent upon past activity within such assemblies. This view of brain organization of sleep has profound implications for sleep function that are briefly reviewed herein.

MicroRNA 132 alters sleep and varies with time in brain

MicroRNA (miRNA) levels in brain are altered by sleep deprivation; however, the direct effects of any miRNA on sleep have not heretofore been described. We report herein that intracerebroventricular application of a miRNA-132 mimetic (preMIR-132) decreased duration of non-rapid-eye-movement sleep (NREMS) while simultaneously increasing duration of rapid eye movement sleep (REMS) during the light phase. Further, preMIR-132 decreased electroencephalographic (EEG) slow-wave activity (SWA) during NREMS, an index of sleep intensity. In separate experiments unilateral supracortical application of preMIR-132 ipsilaterally decreased EEG SWA during NREMS but did not alter global sleep duration. In addition, after ventricular or supracortical injections of preMIR-132, the mimetic-induced effects were state specific, occurring only during NREMS. After local supracortical injections of the mimetic, cortical miRNA-132 levels were higher at the time sleep-related EEG effects were manifest. We also report that spontaneous cortical levels of miRNA-132 were lower at the end of the sleep-dominant light period compared with at the end of the dark period in rats. Results suggest that miRNAs play a regulatory role in sleep and provide a new tool for investigating sleep regulation.

Thalamocortical dynamics of sleep: roles of purinergic neuromodulation

Thalamocortical dynamics, the millisecond to second changes in activity of thalamocortical circuits, are central to perception, action and cognition. Generated by local circuitry and sculpted by neuromodulatory systems, these dynamics reflect the expression of vigilance states. In sleep, thalamocortical dynamics are thought to mediate "offline" functions including memory consolidation and synaptic scaling. Here, I discuss thalamocortical sleep dynamics and their modulation by the ascending arousal system and locally released neurochemicals. I focus on modulation of these dynamics by electrically silent astrocytes, highlighting the role of purinergic signaling in this glial form of communication. Astrocytes modulate cortical slow oscillations, sleep behavior, and sleep-dependent cognitive function. The discovery that astrocytes can modulate sleep dynamics and sleep-related behaviors suggests a new way of thinking about the brain, in which integrated circuits of neurons and glia control information processing and behavioral output.

Hypothalamic versus neocortical control of sleep

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Regions of the neocortex most strongly activated during waking exhibit increased sleep intensity during subsequent sleep. The novel concept that aspects of sleep homeostasis are determined locally in the cortex contrasts with the established views that global changes in neocortical activity during sleep are achieved through inhibition of ascending arousal systems that originate in the brainstem and hypothalamus.

RECENT FINDINGS

Experiments in animals and humans document asymmetries in neocortical electroencephalogram (EEG) slow-wave activity (SWA), a marker of homeostatic sleep need, as a result of functional activity during waking. In addition to local, use-dependent augmentation of EEG SWA and evoked potentials, expression of plasticity-related genes and of sleep-regulatory cytokines and neuromodulators have been shown to be elevated in a use-dependent manner in neocortex. The functional consequences of local sleep are hypothesized to involve regulation of synaptic plasticity, synaptic homeostasis and energy balance.

SUMMARY

The evidence for use-dependent modulation of neocortical activity during sleep is compelling and provides novel insights into sleep function. However, local changes in neocortex are generally expressed on a background of global sleep. It remains to be determined if events initiated in the cortex have global sleep-promoting effects and how neocortical and hypothalamic mechanisms of sleep control interact.

Integrated brain circuits: neuron-astrocyte interaction in sleep-related rhythmogenesis

Although astrocytes are increasingly recognized as important modulators of neuronal excitability and information transfer at the synapse, whether these cells regulate neuronal network activity has only recently started to be investigated. In this article, we highlight the role of astrocytes in the modulation of circuit function with particular focus on sleep-related rhythmogenesis. We discuss recent data showing that these glial cells regulate slow oscillations, a specific thalamocortical activity that characterizes non-REM sleep, and sleep-associated behaviors. Based on these findings, we predict that our understanding of the genesis and tuning of thalamocortical rhythms will necessarily go through an integrated view of brain circuits in which non-neuronal cells can play important neuromodulatory roles.