PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Meredith Sorenson Whitney
AU  - Ashley M. Shemery
AU  - Alexandra M. Yaw
AU  - Lauren J. Donovan
AU  - J. David Glass
AU  - Evan S. Deneris
TI  - Adult Brain Serotonin Deficiency Causes Hyperactivity, Circadian Disruption, and Elimination of Siestas
AID  - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1469-16.2016
DP  - 2016 Sep 21
TA  - The Journal of Neuroscience
PG  - 9828--9842
VI  - 36
IP  - 38
4099  - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/36/38/9828.short
4100  - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/36/38/9828.full
SO  - J. Neurosci.2016 Sep 21; 36
AB  - Serotonin (5-HT) is a crucial neuromodulator linked to many psychiatric disorders. However, after more than 60 years of study, its role in behavior remains poorly understood, in part because of a lack of methods to target 5-HT synthesis specifically in the adult brain. Here, we have developed a genetic approach that reproducibly achieves near-complete elimination of 5-HT synthesis from the adult ascending 5-HT system by stereotaxic injection of an adeno-associated virus expressing Cre recombinase (AAV-Cre) into the midbrain/pons of mice carrying a loxP-conditional tryptophan hydroxylase 2 (Tph2) allele. We investigated the behavioral effects of deficient brain 5-HT synthesis and discovered a unique composite phenotype. Surprisingly, adult 5-HT deficiency did not affect anxiety-like behavior, but resulted in a robust hyperactivity phenotype in novel and home cage environments. Moreover, loss of 5-HT led to an altered pattern of circadian behavior characterized by an advance in the onset and a delay in the offset of daily activity, thus revealing a requirement for adult 5-HT in the control of daily activity patterns. Notably, after normalizing for hyperactivity, we found that the normal prolonged break in nocturnal activity (siesta), a period of rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM sleep, was absent in all animals in which 5-HT deficiency was verified. Our findings identify adult 5-HT as a requirement for siestas, implicate adult 5-HT in sleep–wake homeostasis, and highlight the importance of our adult-specific 5-HT-synthesis-targeting approach in understanding 5-HT's role in controlling behavior.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Serotonin (5-HT) is a crucial neuromodulator, yet its role in behavior remains poorly understood, in part because of a lack of methods to target specifically adult brain 5-HT synthesis. We developed an approach that reproducibly achieves near-complete elimination of 5-HT synthesis from the adult ascending 5-HT system. Using this technique, we discovered that adult 5-HT deficiency led to a novel compound phenotype consisting of hyperactivity, disrupted circadian behavior patterns, and elimination of siestas, a period of increased sleep during the active phase. These findings highlight the importance of our approach in understanding 5-HT's role in behavior, especially in controlling activity levels, circadian behavior, and sleep–wake homeostasis, behaviors that are disrupted in many psychiatric disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.