Control of wakefulness by lateral hypothalamic glutamatergic neurons in male mice

The lateral hypothalamus (LH) plays a key role in the maintenance of cortical activation and wakefulness. In the LH, the two main neuronal cell populations consist of excitatory glutamatergic neurons and inhibitory GABAergic neurons. Recent studies have shown that inhibitory LH GABAergic neurons are wake‐promoting. However, the mechanism by which excitatory LH glutamatergic neurons contribute to sleep‐wake regulation remains unclear. Using fiber photometry in male mice, we demonstrated that LH glutamatergic neurons exhibited high activities during both wakefulness and rapid eye movement sleep. Chemogenetic activation of LH glutamatergic neurons induced an increase in wakefulness that lasted for 6 hr, whereas suppression of LH glutamatergic neuronal activity caused a reduction in wakefulness. Brief optogenetic activation of LH glutamatergic neurons induced an immediate transition from slow‐wave sleep to wakefulness, and long‐lasting optogenetic stimulation of these neurons maintained wakefulness. Moreover, we found that LH‐locus coeruleus/parabrachial nucleus and LH‐basal forebrain projections mediated the wake‐promoting effects of LH glutamatergic neurons. Taken together, our data indicate that LH glutamatergic neurons are essential for the induction and maintenance of wakefulness. The results presented here may advance our understanding of the role of LH in the control of wakefulness. The lateral hypothalamus (LH) is a center for the control of wakefulness. The present study reveals an important role of excitatory LH glutamatergic neurons in controlling wakefulness. Activation of LH glutamatergic neurons induces rapid transitions from sleep to wakefulness and maintains wakefulness, whereas their inhibition decreases wakefulness and increases sleep.