Changes in reflex responses of the genioglossus muscle during sleep in rabbits

Changes in reflex responses in the genioglossus (GG) muscle evoked by electrical stimulation of the inferior alveolar nerve and GG muscle tone (background activity, BGA) were investigated during sleep-wakefulness stages in rabbits. The GG muscle showed two types of electromyographic activity patterns: a respiration-related phasic activity and non-respiration-related activity. GG reflex responses and BGA exhibited a stage-dependent decrease as they were constantly suppressed from quiet wakefulness to non-rapid eye movement sleep to rapid eye movement sleep (REMS). Degree of suppression of reflexes was much larger than that of BGA regardless of GG activity patterns. When amplitude of reflex responses was compared between with and without rapid eye movements during REMS, no difference between the conditions was noted. These results suggest that excitability of the GG muscle is affected by sleep stages by not only a modulation of excitability in motoneurons but also in interneurons involved in the reflex arc.