AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 247, Issue 4 663-R671, Copyright © 1984 by American Physiological Society
Sleep changes in long-term fasting geese in relation to lipid and protein metabolism
G. Dewasmes, F. Cohen-Adad, H. Koubi and Y. Le Maho
The proportion and the distribution over 24 h of the different arousal
stages characterized in geese--wakefulness (W), drowsiness (D), and
slow-wave (SWS) and paradoxical sleep (PS)--were studied in caged birds
when fed and then fasted during about 40 days. In both the fed and fasted
state, each arousal stage was distributed through numerous episodes of a
short duration. The geese slept a little more during the night than during
the day, a difference that was moderately emphasized during the fast.
Fasting induced only a slight decrease in W. There were important changes
in SWS and D in relation to the periods of fasting that were previously
found to correspond to changes in lipid and protein utilization. When
proteins were spared and lipids accounted for most of the energy
expenditure, the fasted geese went more and more rapidly from W to SWS
(proportion of D decreased from 33 to 13%/day) and slept for progressively
longer periods (SWS increased from 23 to 49%/day). By contrast, when
protein utilization rose, the general trend in sleep was a decrease in SWS
and an increase in D. During the fast, changes in PS were in the same
proportion as those in SWS. These reactions are examined for their
implications in energy-saving and sleep mechanisms.
