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The Wake Promoting Role of the Mediodorsal Thalamic Nuclei in Rat

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Abstract

Mediodorsal thalamic nucleus (MD) is a higher order thalamic nucleus and plays an important role in memory, olfaction, cognitive functions and sleep pathology. However, its role in sleep–wake regulation needs elucidation. In the present study, we investigated the involvement of MD in the regulation of sleep wakefulness by studying the c-fos expression after normal sleep and sleep deprivation in rats. Total sleep deprivation was carried out using gentle handling. c-fos expression was quantified using immunofluorescence. There was significant increase in the expression of c-fos in MD after 6 h than 3 h of sleep deprivation compared to animals that slept naturally. The results of the present study suggest the involvement of the MD in the wake regulatory circuitry. It may play a crucial role in the integration of cognitive functions in the subcortical arousal networks before its specific projection to the prefrontal cortex.

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Availability of Data and Material

The datasets generated during analysis used in the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The study was supported by All India Institute of Medical Sciences and Indian Council of Medical research, New Delhi, India.

Funding

The study was supported by All India Institute of Medical Sciences and Indian Council of Medical research, New Delhi, India.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India

    Sriji Somanath, Binney Sharma, Preeti Puskar, Avishek Roy, Nasreen Akhtar & Hruda Nanda Mallick

  2. Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, SGT University, Budhera, Gurugram, Haryana, India

    Hruda Nanda Mallick

Authors
  1. Sriji Somanath
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  2. Binney Sharma
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  3. Preeti Puskar
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  4. Avishek Roy
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  5. Nasreen Akhtar
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  6. Hruda Nanda Mallick
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Contributions

HNM and SS contributed to design, conceptual framework, experimental work, acquisition of the data and drafting the article of the study. BS, AR and PP contributed to data acquisition. NA contributed to the design and data analysis.

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Correspondence to Hruda Nanda Mallick.

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On behalf of all the authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

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The study was approved by the Institutional Animal Ethics Committee of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.

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Somanath, S., Sharma, B., Puskar, P. et al. The Wake Promoting Role of the Mediodorsal Thalamic Nuclei in Rat. Sleep Vigilance 6, 139–143 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41782-021-00184-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41782-021-00184-y

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