Phasic hippocampal activity during paradoxical sleep in the rat: selective suppression after diazepam administration

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The effects of diazepam on tonic (Tπ) and phasic (Pπ) components of the paradoxical-sleep hippocampal theta rhythm were studied in the rat. Results show that diazepam, a benzodiazepine analogue known to interfere with the putative neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the mammalian central nervous system, selectively abolishes Pπ. They confirm previous data according to which sedative/anaesthetic drugs cause, an apparent dissociation of Tπ and Pπ of the paradoxical-sleep hippocampal theta rhythm. Moreover, they suggest a possible involvement of GABA in the neurochemical mechanisms underlying Pπ in the rat.