*Result*: How REM sleep shapes hypothalamic computations for feeding behavior.

*The electrical activity of diverse brain cells is modulated across states of vigilance, namely wakefulness, non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Enhanced activity of neuronal circuits during NREM sleep impacts on subsequent awake behaviors, yet the significance of their activation, or lack thereof, during REM sleep remains unclear. This review focuses on feeding-promoting cells in the lateral hypothalamus (LH) that express the vesicular GABA and glycine transporter (vgat) as a model to further understand the impact of REM sleep on neural encoding of goal-directed behavior. It emphasizes both spatial and temporal aspects of hypothalamic cell dynamics across awake behaviors and REM sleep, and discusses a role for REM sleep in brain plasticity underlying energy homeostasis and behavioral optimization. Hypothalamic neurons have an input–output connectivity map that encompasses much of the brain in vertebrates. These neurons are central in the modulation of homeostatic behaviors including feeding and sleep, suggesting that specific hypothalamic circuits share diverse physiological functions. Patterns of activity of lateral hypothalamus (LH) inhibitory neurons during awake feeding behavior show a high diversity of discharge profiles. These patterns of low and high cellular activities are conserved during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Emerging evidence reveals a role for sleep in the stabilization of the behavior encoded by these circuits. Sleep-dependent tuning of hypothalamic feeding circuits may be essential for the stability of the internal representation of behavior, optimization of strategies for behavioral adaptation to the environment, and species perpetuation. Understanding the spatiotemporal encoding of hypothalamic-controlled behaviors (e.g., reproduction, social interactions, aversion, and fight/flight responses) may lead to a more comprehensive view of the role of sleep in hypothalamic physiology and pathologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]*