Effect of noradrenergic denervation of medial prefrontal cortex and dentate gyrus on recovery after sleep deprivation in the rat

The noradrenergic-locus coeruleus (LC) system has a regulatory influence on forebrain neuronal networks. We have previously shown that the amygdala is strongly implicated in the mechanism of rebound seen after a 10 h sleep deprivation (SD). In the present study, our objective was to determine whether the medial prefrontal cortex and dentate gyrus (DG) which receive an important innervation from the LC, play a role in the rebound mechanisms. We found that microinjection of the specific noradrenergic neurotoxin, N-(2-chloroethyl)-N-ethyl-2-bromobenzylamine, into these regions had no effect on the increase in paradoxical sleep duration seen after SD, suggesting that noradrenergic (NA) innervation of the prefrontal cortex and DG are not involved in sleep rebound regulation.