Brain clearance is reduced during sleep and anesthesia
Andawei Miao, Tianyuan Luo, Bryan Hsieh, Christopher J. Edge, Morgan Gridley, Ryan Wong, Timothy G. Constandinou, William Wisden, Nicholas P. Franks
Abstract
It has been suggested that the function of sleep is to actively clear metabolites and toxins from the brain. Enhanced clearance is also said to occur during anesthesia. Here, we measure clearance and movement of fluorescent molecules in the brains of male mice and show that movement is, in fact, independent of sleep and wake or anesthesia. Moreover, we show that brain clearance is markedly reduced, not increased, during sleep and anesthesia.
Topics & Concepts
Sleep (system call)AnesthesiaNeuroscienceAnestheticMedicineRapid eye movement sleepPsychologyEye movementComputer scienceOperating systemNeuroscience and Neuropharmacology ResearchSleep and Wakefulness ResearchNeuroscience of respiration and sleep