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. 2011 Jul 1;34(7):845–858. doi: 10.5665/SLEEP.1112

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© 2011 Associated Professional Sleep Societies, LLC.

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A variety of neurochemical systems promote arousal via projections to the forebrain. Cortical and subcortical regions are excited by monoaminergic neurotransmitters including norepinephrine (NE) from the locus coeruleus (LC), serotonin (5-HT) from the dorsal and median raphe nuclei, histamine (HA) from the tuberomammillary nucleus (TMN); and dopamine (DA) from the substantia nigra, ventral tegmental area, and ventral periaqueductal gray (SN/VTA/vPAG). Neurons of the basal forebrain (BF) promote cortical activation using acetylcholine (ACh) and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Neurons in the laterodorsal and pedunculopontine tegmental nuclei (LDT/PPT) release ACh to excite neurons in the thalamus, hypothalamus, and brainstem.