Dopaminergic role in stimulant-induced wakefulness.

J P Wisor, S Nishino, I Sora, G H Uhl, E Mignot, D M Edgar

Sleep Disorders Research Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305, USA. jwisor@stanford.edu

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience 2001 Mar 1

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The role of dopamine in sleep regulation and in mediating the effects of wake-promoting therapeutics is controversial. In this study, polygraphic recordings and caudate microdialysate dopamine measurements in narcoleptic dogs revealed that the wake-promoting antinarcoleptic compounds modafinil and amphetamine increase extracellular dopamine in a hypocretin receptor 2-independent manner. In mice, deletion of the dopamine transporter (DAT) gene reduced non-rapid eye movement sleep time and increased wakefulness consolidation independently from locomotor effects. DAT knock-out mice were also unresponsive to the normally robust wake-promoting action of modafinil, methamphetamine, and the selective DAT blocker GBR12909 but were hypersensitive to the wake-promoting effects of caffeine. Thus, dopamine transporters play an important role in sleep regulation and are necessary for the specific wake-promoting action of amphetamines and modafinil.

Citation

J P Wisor, S Nishino, I Sora, G H Uhl, E Mignot, D M Edgar. Dopaminergic role in stimulant-induced wakefulness. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience. 2001 Mar 1;21(5):1787-94