Genetic Activation, Inactivation, and Deletion Reveal a Limited And Nuanced Role for Somatostatin-Containing Basal Forebrain Neurons in Behavioral State Control

Recent studies have identified an especially important role for basal forebrain GABAergic (BFVGAT) neurons in the regulation of behavioral waking and fast cortical rhythms associated with cognition. However, BFVGAT neurons comprise several neurochemically and anatomically distinct subpopulations, including parvalbumin-containing BFVGAT neurons and somatostatin-containing BFVGAT neurons (BFSOMneurons), and it was recently reported that optogenetic activation of BFSOM neurons increases the probability of a wakefulness to non-rapid-eye movement (NREM) sleep transition when stimulated during the rest period of the animal. This finding was unexpected given that most BFSOM neurons are not NREM sleep active and that central administration of the synthetic somatostatin analog, octreotide, suppresses NREM sleep or increases REM sleep. Here we used a combination of genetically driven chemogenetic and optogenetic activation, chemogenetic inhibition, and ablation approaches to further explore the in vivo role of BFSOM neurons in arousal control. Our findings indicate that acute activation or inhibition of BFSOMneurons is neither wakefulness nor NREM sleep promoting and is without significant effect on the EEG, and that chronic loss of these neurons is without effect on total 24 h sleep amounts, although a small but significant increase in waking was observed in the lesioned mice during the early active period. Our in vitrocell recordings further reveal electrophysiological heterogeneity in BFSOM neurons, specifically suggesting at least two distinct subpopulations. Together, our data support the more nuanced view that BFSOM neurons are electrically heterogeneous and are not NREM sleep or wake promoting per se, but may exert, in particular during the early active period, a modest inhibitory influence on arousal circuitry.