By: Iman Abdelrahman

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The Effects of REMS Deprivation on Brain
Plasticity in the Visual Cortex

• By Iman Abdelrahman
• 2008 Neuroscience Summer Scholar
• Dr. Shafferys Lab

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Objectives

• Purpose
• -Determine how the visual cortex develops.
• -Determine the effects of REM Sleep Deprivation
  on brain plasticity during critical period of
  development in visual cortex.
• -Determine the degree to which REM Sleep
  Deprivation affects inhibitory mechanisms.

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Background

• Previous studies conducted in Dr. Shafferys lab
  have shown that REM sleep deprivation lengthens
  the critical period for LTPWM-III production.

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Functions of Sleep

• Restoration
• Anabolic/Catabolic Functions
• Ontogenesis
• Memory Processing
• Preservation

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Methods Materials

• Subjects
• 35-45 day old male Long Evans rats
• Methods
• Under anesthesia, electrodes were implanted into
  the skull.
• Rats were deprived of REM sleep for 24 to 96
  hours.
• Paired Pulse Tests

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Electrode Implantation
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Sleep Recording Compartment
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REMSD Electrophysiology
Shaken
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Sleep Scoring

• RSS Grass
• Electrophysiology
• Staging Epochs
• 0. Unscorable
• Wake
• SWS
• REM
• Mix

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Waking
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Slow Wave Sleep
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REM Sleep
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Results
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Paired Pulse recording setup
Nissl-Stained Rat Visual Cortex
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Results



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Conclusions

• The REMSD was successful and REMS was reduced by
  65.
• REM Sleep Deprivation is shown to have an effect
  of delaying maturation of inhibitory tone in the
  middle layers of the visual cortex.
• The precise components (i.e., receptor subunits,
  etc.) of the inhibitory mechanisms that are
  apparently being affected by REMSD are not yet
  clear and will be the basis of future studies
  (but not by me!!).

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Acknowledgements

• Dr. Shaffery
• Arma Wesley
• Channing McLaurin
• Catherine Kaime
• Dr. Paul