Jouvet's animal model of RBD, clinical RBD, and their relationships to REM sleep mechanisms

This article focuses on the contributions made by Michel Jouvet concerning the systems responsible for the muscle atonia of paradoxical sleep (REM sleep). He was the first to describe the brainstem system mechanisms responsible for muscle atonia during paradoxical sleep using pontine cats and localized pontine lesions. Also discussed is the research going on in the eighties, when Michel Jouvet was hunting for the hypnogenetic factor. At that time, he thought that it was secreted by the hypophysis; but it finally turned out to be controlled by the hypocretin/orexin and melanin concentrating hormone neurones located in the lateral hypothalamus. Several unforgettable moments with Michel Jouvet are described which occurred between 1983 as well as his last moments with us.