Mantre Dehnad

eLife Assessment This important study showing that sleep deprivation increases functional synapses while depleting silent synapses supports previous findings that excitatory signaling increases during wakefulness. This manuscript focuses in particular on AMPA/NMDA ratios.

Abstract Sleep loss increases AMPA-synaptic strength and number in the neocortex. However, this is only part of the synaptic sleep loss response. We report increased AMPA/NMDA EPSC ratio in frontal-cortical pyramidal neurons of layers 2-3. Silent synapses are absent, decreasing the plastic potential to convert silent NMDA to active AMPA synapses. These sleep loss changes are recovered by sleep.

Abstract The response to sleep loss, induced by experimental sleep deprivation (SD), provides insight into the function of sleep. Earlier observations have shown an overall increase in synaptic strength and number of cortical, glutamate, AMPA receptor (AMPAR) synapses in response to SD that is recovered by sleep.