During rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, behavioral unresponsiveness contrasts strongly with intense brain-wide neural network dynamics. Yet, the physiological functions of this cellular activation remain unclear. Using in vivo calcium imaging in freely behaving mice, we found that inhibitory neurons in the lateral hypothalamus (LH^vgat) show unique activity patterns during feeding that are reactivated during REM, but not non-REM, sleep. REM sleep-specific optogenetic silencing of LH^vgat cells induced a reorganization of these activity patterns during subsequent feeding behaviors accompanied by decreased food intake. Our findings provide evidence for a role for REM sleep in the maintenance of cellular representations of feeding behavior.

在快速眼动（REM）睡眠期间，行为无反应性与强烈的全脑神经网络动力学形成强烈对比。然而，这种细胞活化的生理功能仍不清楚。使用体内行为自由的小鼠体内的钙成像，我们发现下丘脑外侧（LH ^vgat）中的抑制性神经元在进食过程中显示出独特的活动模式，该活动模式在REM而非非REM睡眠中重新激活。LH ^vgat细胞的REM睡眠特异性光^遗传沉默在随后的进食行为伴随着食物摄入减少的情况下诱导了这些活动模式的重组。我们的发现为REM睡眠在维持喂养行为的细胞表征中的作用提供了证据。