National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke 5R35NS132223-05

The Molecular and Cellular Basis of the Sleep Homeostat

This award funds research to understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the sleep homeostat, using Drosophila as a model organism, with innovative genomic and proteomic methods.

Description

Understanding why we sleep remains one of the most enduring mysteries in science. Nearly every organism examined, even jellyfish that lack a centralized nervous system, exhibits a restorative sleep-like state. While asleep, we cannot eat, mate, defend ourselves from predators or care for our young. Inadequate sleep contributes to brain disease such as Alzheimer's and depression, and even diseases outside of the brain, such as diabetes and obesity. Sleep is homeostatically regulated, i.e., sleep is driven by the duration and intensity of prior waking experience. However, the mechanistic basis of the sleep homeostat remains unclear. How does wakefulness tax the brain? How does the homeostat sense those effects? How does the homeostat trigger sleep? How does sleep restore the brain? Almost uniquely among brain functions, sleep requires the coordinated activity of widespread brain regions. The project aims to reveal the molecular and circuit basis of the sleep homeostat using Drosophila as a model, employing innovative genomic and proteomic approaches.

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