Regulation of REM sleep: Basic mechanisms and clinical drugs / 中国临床药理学与治疗学

ABSTRACT

To explore the mechanism of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep regulation and the drugs that affect it. This article summarizes the relevant nucleuses regulating REM sleep in the pontine, medulla, and hypothalamus starting from the neural circuit that regulates REM sleep. Drugs that affect REM sleep, such as selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors and selective 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) reuptake inhibitors, etc. The mechanism of action can be summarized as reducing the degradation of norepinephrine and 5-HT of synaptic sites, prolonging the action time of neurotransmitters, reducing the reuptake of presynaptic membrane, prolonging the action time of transmitters in the synaptic space, and relatively increasing norepinephrine and 5-HT neurons excitement.