Slow-wave sleep engages brainstem circuitry to prevent stress-induced anxiety.

Slow-wave sleep engages a brainstem circuit involving PZ GABAergic neurons to reduce anxiety by suppressing LPB and ovBNST activity in species.

• Why it matters: Understanding how sleep alleviates anxiety is crucial for developing targeted treatments, as the underlying neural mechanisms remain largely unknown.
• What they did: The study used optogenetics, multi-region Ca2+ recording, and circuit analysis to identify a PZ GABAergic to LPB CGRP to ovBNST Crh neuron pathway critical for sleep-induced anxiolysis.
• The result: Activation of this circuit during sleep prevents anxiety by inhibiting wake-promoting and anxiety-related neurons, highlighting a potential target for anxiety disorder therapies.