In-vivo sensing of glutamate levels in the basolateral amygdala across sleep-wake states

In this research, chronic sensing parameters and an animal protocol for recording sleep-related changes in glutamate in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) were examined and verified. For chronic sensing, glutamate concentration was measured in rat BLA in real time by an enzyme electrode. In order to analyze the correlation of glutamate level with sleep stages, electroencephalography (EEG) and activity signals were simultaneously monitored by a wireless data acquisition system. From this experiment set-up, increases in glutamate concentration of around 60 nM level were observed in the BLA in shifts from non-rapid eye movement (NREM) to rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.