Roles of Adenosine and Its Receptors in Sleep–Wake Regulation

摘要: This chapter summarizes the current knowledge about role of adenosine in sleep–wake regulation with a focus on brain, levels, receptors, and manipulations system by use pharmacological molecular biological tools. Adenosine is neither stored nor released as classical neurotransmitter thought to be formed inside cells or their surface, mostly breakdown adenine nucleotides. The extracellular level increases cortex basal forebrain (BF) during prolonged wakefulness decreases sleep-recovery period. Therefore, proposed act homeostatic regulator sleep. endogenous somnogen prostaglandin (PG) D2 under subarachnoid space BF promotes physiological There are four receptor subtypes: A1 (R, A1R), A2AR, A2BR, A3R. Both A1R A2AR have been reported involved sleep induction. plays an important somnogenic effects PGD2. Activation its agonist infused into brain potently arousal effect caffeine, antagonist, was shown dependent A2AR. On other hand, inhibition wake-promoting neurons via also mediates sleep-inducing adenosine, whereas activation lateral preoptic area induces wakefulness. These findings indicate that predominant induction, regulates cycle site-dependent manner.