Circadian and homeostatic influences on sleep in the squirrel monkey: sleep after sleep deprivation

A series of sleep deprivation (SD) experiments were performed to examine the relative influence of circadian and homeostatic factors on the timing of sleep in squirrel monkeys free-running in constant illumination. All SDs started at the beginning of subjective night and lasted 0, 1/4, 1/2, 1, 1 1/4, or 1 1/2 circadian cycles. These six lengths represented three pairs: (0.1), (1/4, 1 1/4), (1/2, 1 1/2). Within each pair, SD ended at the same circadian phase but differed by one circadian cycle in duration. Both before and after SD, consolidated sleep (CS) episodes occurred predominantly during subjective night, even after long SDs ending at the beginning of subjective day. CS duration was strongly influenced by circadian phase but had no overall correlation with prior wake duration. Sleep loss incurred during SDs longer than 1/4 cycle was only partially recovered over the next two circadian cycles, though total sleep duration was closer to baseline levels after the second circadian cycle after SD. There was a trend toward a positive correlation between prior wake duration and the amount of NREM and delta activity measures during subjective day. Delta activity was not increased in the first 2 hours of CS after the SD. Relatively high levels of delta activity occurred immediately after the SD ended and again at the time of baseline CS onset. These data indicate that the amount of sleep and delta activity after SD in squirrel monkeys is weakly dependent on prior wake duration. Circadian factors appear to dominate homeostatic processes in determining the timing, duration and content of sleep in these diurnal primates.