ABSTRACT
Cellular immediate early genes (IEGs) are characterized by their rapid and transient inducibility by stimuli acting on the cell surface, and they are transcribed even in the absence of protein synthesis. Some of their protein products can bind to specific DNA sequences, thus regulating the transcription of downstream genes. “Basal conditions” are generally considered those in which no exogenous stimulation is intentionally applied and would thus represent the physiological state of the animal. Basal conditions obviously include also sleep and wake, and it can be assumed that the animals are sleeping during the period of rest and they are awake during the period of activity. For the study of IEG expression, sleep deprivation has mostly been performed with gentle handling, a procedure in which stress is minimized. The investigations based on forced wakefulness strongly supported a relationship between IEG induction and wakefulness.
