Respiratory‐like periodicities in slow eye movements during sleep onset

Abstract

Slow eye movements (SEMs) during sleep onset and their relationship to vegetative rhythms were investigated in six healthy, sleep-deprived subjects, yielding 143-289 SEMs in an epoch of 31.5-56 min per experiment. Exclusively, sleep in stages I and II was recorded. From the bandpass-filtered electro-oculogram (EOG) signal (cut-off frequencies 0.05 and 1 Hz), turning points of the gaze were detected and compared with the start of inspiration, which was discriminated from the abdominal respiratory excursions. SEM cycle times varied considerably more than respiratory cycle times (P < 0.05 in Levene's test). Both were preferentially of equal length, or, in some subjects, in 2:1 co-ordination. Cross-correlation histograms yielded that inspiration and SEMs were also temporally co-ordinated. Thus, there is a temporal coherence regarding the occurrence, the cycle time and the phase between SEMs and a respiratory-like rhythm. Our findings show that it is not exactly the respiratory rhythm that is mirrored in the SEMs. Rather, we favour the interpretation of an autorhythmicity that is temporarily connected to the common brainstem system in the reticular formation of the brainstem.

Cardiovascular rhythms in the 0.15-Hz band: common origin of identical phenomena in man and dog in the reticular formation of the brain stem?

“…Investigations on test persons using controlled different respiration frequencies demonstrated that within the typical frequency range of the retR (as observed in animal experiments) relaxed test persons also exhibited amplified modulations of heart rate, blood pressure (9), and electrodermal activity (67,68). The same rhythmical effects were described for slow eye movements during sleep onset (69,70). Thus, also in man the influence on effector systems (e.g.…”

Cortical rhythms are modulated by respiration

“…There are also indirect ways cortical areas receive respiration-locked sensory input. Eye movements, for example, have been shown to be temporarily phase-locked to respiration during sleep (Rittweger and Popel, 1998) as well as in the awake state (Rassler and Raabe, 2003). Recently, Ito and colleagues reported saccade related changes in LFP oscillation power in four frequency bands, including gamma, in primates freely viewing their environment (Ito et al, 2013).…”

“…However, interactions between respiration and non-respiratory functions have been documented in humans and rodents. In humans, for example, phase-locking with respiration has been observed for eye movements (Rassler and Raabe, 2003;Rittweger and Popel, 1998), finger movements (Ebert et al, 2002;Rassler, 2000;Rassler et al, 1996) and grip-force (Li and Laskin, 2006). In mice, movements of the mystacial whiskers are phase-locked to respiration (Cao et al, 2012;Moore et al, 2013).…”

Breathing as a Fundamental Rhythm of Brain Function

“…Eye movements, for example, have been shown to be transiently phase-locked to respiration during sleep (Rittweger and Pöpel, 1998) as well as in the awake state (Rassler and Raabe, 2003). Recently, Ito et al (2013) reported saccade related changes in the power of neuronal oscillatory activity in four frequency bands, including gamma, in primates that were freely viewing their environment.…”

“…However, interactions between respiration and non-respiratory functions have been documented in humans and rodents. In humans, for example, phase-locking with respiration has been observed for visual signal detection (Flexman et al, 1974) eye movements (Rittweger and Pöpel, 1998; Rassler and Raabe, 2003), the temporal grouping of pianistic finger movements (Ebert et al, 2002), reaction time to visual (Li et al, 2012) and auditory (Gallego et al, 1991) stimuli, and grip-force (Li and Laskin, 2006). Rassler et al (1996) reported that response latency, tracking-precision and movement duration of finger movements made to track a visual target showed significant respiratory-phase-dependent differences and that the respiratory-phase-dependence differed between finger flexion and extension movements (Rassler, 2000).…”