Sleep control is ascribed to a two-process model, a widely accepted concept that posits
homoeostatic drive and a circadian process as the major sleep-regulating factors. Cognitive …

The mesolimbic dopamine pathway between the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and the
nucleus accumbens (NAc) plays a central role in motivational behaviors. Recent findings …

Highlights•The dorsal striatum enhances wakefulness and the nucleus accumbens
promotes sleep.•The external globus pallidus regulates sleep–wake behavior through …

Nucleus accumbens (NAc) is involved in behaviors that depend on heightened wakefulness,
but its impact on arousal remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that NAc dopamine D1 …

This review describes a series of animal experiments that investigate the role of
endogenous adenosine (AD) in sleep. We propose that AD is a modulator of the sleepiness …

Sleep profoundly affects the emotional and motivational state. In humans and animals, loss
of sleep often results in enhanced motivation for reward, which has direct implications for …

Sleep homeostasis reflects a centrally mediated drive for sleep, which increases during
waking and resolves during subsequent sleep. Here we demonstrate that mice deficient for …

The basal ganglia (BG) are involved in motor function, habit formation, and reward or
addictive behaviors, but the question as to how the BG integrate arousal with these …

During sleep, the mammalian CNS undergoes widespread, synchronized slow-wave activity
(SWA) that directly varies with previous waking duration (;). When sleep is restricted, an …

This paper presents an overview of the current knowledge of the neurophysiology and
cellular pharmacology of sleep mechanisms. It is written from the perspective that recent …