Forebrain activation in REM sleep: an FDG PET study

Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is a behavioral state characterized by cerebral cortical activation with dreaming as an associated behavior. The brainstem mechanisms involved in the generation of REM sleep are well-known, but the forebrain mechanisms that might distinguish it from waking are not well understood. We report here a positron emission tomography (PET) study of regional cerebral glucose utilization in the human forebrain during REM sleep in comparison to waking in six healthy adult females using the ¹⁸F-deoxyglucose method. In REM sleep, there is relative activation, shown by increased glucose utilization, in phylogenetically old limbic and paralimbic regions which include the lateral hypothalamic area, amygdaloid complex, septal–ventral striatal areas, and infralimbic, prelimbic, orbitofrontal, cingulate, entorhinal and insular cortices. The largest area of activation is a bilateral, confluent paramedian zone which extends from the septal area into ventral striatum, infralimbic, prelimbic, orbitofrontal and anterior cingulate cortex. There are only small and scattered areas of apparent deactivation. These data suggest that an important function of REM sleep is the integration of neocortical function with basal forebrain-hypothalamic motivational and reward mechanisms. This is in accordance with views that alterations in REM sleep in psychiatric disorders, such as depression, may reflect dysregulation in limbic and paralimbic structures.