Sleep Drives Metabolite Clearance from the Adult Brain.
Xie, Lulu 1,*; Kang, Hongyi 1,*; Xu, Qiwu 1; Chen, Michael J. 1; Liao, Yonghong 1; Thiyagarajan, Meenakshisundaram 1; O'Donnell, John 1; Christensen, Daniel J. 1; Nicholson, Charles 2; Iliff, Jeffrey J. 1; Takano, Takahiro 1; Deane, Rashid 1; Nedergaard, Maiken 1,+
[Report] Science. 342(6156):373-377, October 18, 2013.

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: The conservation of sleep across all animal species suggests that sleep serves a vital function. We here report that sleep has a critical function in ensuring metabolic homeostasis. Using real-time assessments of tetramethylammonium diffusion and two-photon imaging in live mice, we show that natural sleep or anesthesia are associated with a 60% increase in the interstitial space, resulting in a striking increase in convective exchange of cerebrospinal fluid with interstitial fluid. In turn, convective fluxes of interstitial fluid increased the rate of [beta]-amyloid clearance during sleep. Thus, the restorative function of sleep may be a consequence of the enhanced removal of potentially neurotoxic waste products that accumulate in the awake central nervous system.

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