ArticleNature communications2021
Microglia modulate stable wakefulness via the thalamic reticular nucleus in mice.
Article in Nature communications, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 54 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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Who cites it
54 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 90 citations in OpenAlex.
- Thalamus and consciousness: a systematic review on thalamic nuclei associated with consciousness.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Microglia stabilize sleep homeostasis via adenosine AScience advances · 2026Article
- Dyscoordination of thalamic reticular spindles is associated with social memory deficits in mice and humans with autism spectrum disorder.Nature communications · 2026Article
- PLX3397 Reshapes Hepatic Lipid Metabolism Independent of Microglial Depletion.Neuroscience bulletin · 2026Article
- Microglia depletion alleviates the disruptions in circadian rhythms and anxiety caused by bmal1 deficiency.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2026Article
- Early microglial response to amyloid plaques drives sleep loss in Alzheimer's disease.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Article
- Aurka-Bhlhe41 axis prevents premature aging-like microglial dysfunction and promotes remyelination.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Morphological changes in microglia in the mouse brain during postnatal development and obesity.Histology and histopathology · 2026Article
- The physiological and pathological effects of sphingolipid metabolism and signaling in the central nervous system.Brain pathology (Zurich, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Electroacupuncture Attenuates Neuroinflammation in PCPA-Induced Insomnia Rats by Suppressing the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB p65 Pathway and M1 Microglial Activation.Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2026Article
- Contrasting contribution of resident and repopulated brain macrophages in sustaining sleep-wake circuitry.Communications biology · 2025Article
- Glia phagocytose neuronal sphingolipids to infiltrate developing synapses.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Review
- Review
- Chemogenetic activation of microglial Gi signaling decreases microglial surveillance and impairs neuronal synchronization.Science advances · 2025Article
- Exercise as a modulator of gut microbiota for improvement of sleep quality: a narrative review.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Review
- Does glial lipid dysregulation alter sleep in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease?Trends in molecular medicine · 2024Review
- The application of mesenchymal stem cells in the treatment of traumatic brain injury: Mechanisms, results, and problems.Histology and histopathology · 2024Review
- Microglia mediate the increase in slow-wave sleep associated with high ambient temperature.The journal of physiological sciences : JPS · 2024Article
- Sleep Deprivation Triggers Mitochondrial DNA Release in Microglia to Induce Neural Inflammation: Preventative Effect of Hydroxytyrosol Butyrate.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Microglia are important for brain homeostasis and immunity, but their role in regulating vigilance remains unclear. We employed genetic, physiological, and metabolomic methods to examine microglial involvement in the regulation of wakefulness and sleep. Microglial depletion decreased stable nighttime wakefulness in mice by increasing transitions between wakefulness and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. Metabolomic analysis revealed that the sleep-wake behavior closely correlated with diurnal variation of the brain ceramide, which disappeared in microglia-depleted mice. Ceramide preferentially influenced microglia in the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN), and local depletion of TRN microglia produced similar impaired wakefulness. Chemogenetic manipulations of anterior TRN neurons showed that they regulated transitions between wakefulness and NREM sleep. Their firing capacity was suppressed by both microglial depletion and added ceramide. In microglia-depleted mice, activating anterior TRN neurons or inhibiting ceramide production both restored stable wakefulness. These findings demonstrate that microglia can modulate stable wakefulness through anterior TRN neurons via ceramide signaling.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.