Conference Paper
Multiphoton ablation of HCRT neurons increases sleep in the Molino cavefish population
McDole, B., Jaggard, J., Duboue, E. and Keene, A.C.
Record Number:
4291
Year:
2019
Journal:
AIM 2019
Pages:
43
Abstract:
Mexican cavefish, Astyanax mexicanus, have evolved differences in sleeping and feeding
behaviors relative to their ancestral surface-dwelling population. It has been observed that
cavefish sleep significantly less than surface fish, which may be the result of differences in
wake-promoting neurons. Hypocretin/Orexin (HCRT) hypothalamic neurons, known for their
involvement in the regulation of sleeping and feeding behaviors, are significantly increased in
the Pachon population of cavefish. It has been shown that pharmacological ablation of HCRT
neurons in the Pachon cavefish increases sleep to levels comparable to surface fish. Here, we
use transgenic cave fish that express GFP in the HCRT neuron population to perform live
ablations of HCRT cell bodies using a multiphoton laser. This allows for the assessment of
sleep and feeding behaviors in the absence of HCRT neurons. Similar to pharmacological
ablation, we observe a significant increase of total sleep and bout number and duration in the
Molino cavefish population after ablation of HCRT neurons. However, no significant differences
were found in the amount eaten between cavefish with ablated HCRT neurons and non-ablated
cavefish. These findings demonstrate that HCRT neurons conserve their role in sleep regulation
and that the Molino cavefish population are a valuable model to study the evolution of sleep via
HCRT neurons.
Times Cited:
1
Conference Name:
Astyanax Interrnational Meeting
Relevent Species: