Summary
A wide range of elementary and complex motor activities are known to occur during sleep, but very little is known about the basic physiologic condition of the skeletal muscle during sleep. The present study provides evidence that a minute electric random activity constitutes the basic physiologic condition of the skeletal muscles during sleep. During the NonREM stages of each sleep cycle a regression of the continuous random minute activity occurs, followed by a sudden increase of the isolated motor unit action potentials during REM sleep. Particular structural features of the anterior tibial (AT) muscle make it the most active skeletal muscle during sleep. During wakefulness, at rest, the random muscle activity disappears.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aserinsky E, Kleitman N (1953) Regularly occurring period of eye motility and concomitent phenomena during sleep. Science 118: 273–274
Askenasy JJM, Yahr MD (1983) Correlation of sleep patterns with muscle activity in patients with Parkinson's disease. In: Yahr MD (ed) Current concepts of Parkinson's disease and related disorders. Excerpta Medica, Amsterdam, pp 172–189
Askenasy JJM, Yahr MD (1988) Is monoamine oxidase inhibitor induced myoclonus serotoninergically mediated? J Neural Transm 72: 67–76
Askenasy JJM, Yahr MD, Davidovitch S (1988) Isolated phasic discharges in anterior tibial muscle, a stable feature of paradoxical sleep. J Clin Neurophysiol 5: 175–181
Askenasy JJM (1988) Sleep hiccup. Sleep 11: 187–194
Association of sleep disorders centers and association for psychophysiological study of sleep (1979) Diagnostic classification of sleep and arousal disorders. Sleep 2: 1–137
Buchthal F (1961) The general concept of the motor unit. Neuromuscular Dis 38: 3–30
Buchthal F, Rosenfalck P (1966) Spontaneous electrical activity of human muscle. Electroencephal Clin Neurophysiol 20: 321–336
Dagnino H, Leob G, Massazza G (1962) Hypnic physiologic myoclonias in man: an EEGEMG study in normal and neurological patients. Eur Neurol 2: 47–58
De Lisi E (1932) Su di un fenomeno motorio constante del sonno normale: le mioclonie ipniche fisiologiche. Rev Nerv Ment 39: 481–496
Ekstedt J (1964) Human single muscle fiber action potentials. Acta Physiol Scand [Suppl] 226: 1–96
Feinstein B, Lindegard B, Nyman E, Wohlfart G (1955) Morphologic studies of motor units in normal human muscles. Acta Anat (Basel) 23: 127–142
Gardner R, Grossman WI (1975) Normal motor patterns in sleep in man. Adv Sleep Res 2: 67–107
Jouvet M (1965) Paradoxical sleep. A study of its nature and mechanisms. Prog Brain Res 18: 20–57
Krnjevic F, Miledi R (1958) Motor units in the rat diaphragm. J Physiol 140: 427–439
McNeilage PF, McNeilage LA (1973) Central processes controlling speech production during sleep and waking. In: McGuigan FJ, Schoonover RA (eds) Psychophysiology of thinking. New York, Academic Press, pp 417–448
Monster AW, Chan HC, O'Connor O (1978) Activity patterns of human skeletal muscles, relation to muscle fiber type composition. Science 216: 314–316
Morales FR, Chase MH (1978) Intracellular recording of lumbar motoneuron membrane potential during sleep and wakefulness. Experientia Neurol 62: 821–827
Pesah MA, Roffwarg HP (1972) Spontaneous middle ear muscle activity in man: a REM phenomenon. Science 178: 773–776
Rosenfalck P (1969) Intra and extracellular potential fields of active nerve and muscle fibers. Acta Physiol Scand [Suppl] 321: 1–168
Satoh T, Harada Y (1973) How is the H-reflex modulated during REM sleep? Physiol Soc Japan 35: 19–20
Stalberg E, Schwartz MS, Thiele B, Schiller HH (1976) The normal motor unit in man. J Neurol Sci 27: 291–301
Tassinari CA, Broughton R, Poire R, Roger J, Gastaut H (1965) Sur l'evolution des movements anormaux au cours du sommeil. In: Fischgold H (ed) Le sommeil de nuit normal et pathologique. Paris, Masson
Tauber ES, Coleman RM, Weitzman ED (1977) Absence of tonic electromyographic activity during sleep in normal and spastic nonmimetic skeletal muscles in man. Ann Neurol 2: 66–68
Wiederholt WC (1970) “End-plate noise” in electromyography. Neurology 21: 214–224
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Askenasy, J.J.M., Yahr, M.D. Different laws govern motor activity in sleep than in wakefulness. J. Neural Transmission 79, 103–111 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01251005
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01251005