What is it about?
How are sleep and wake regulated in the brain? The basal forebrain is a structure that regulates sleep and wakefulness and is comprised of multiple different cell types, many of which are poorly defined. Here, we describe the functionality of a novel population of cells in the basal forebrain that express the transcription factor Npas1. When activated, these cells promote sustained wakefulness and disrupt deep, restorative sleep,
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Photo by Robina Weermeijer on Unsplash
Why is it important?
Current therapeutics for sleep have poor efficacy, but the development of new drugs is limited by our understanding of the fundamental neurobiology of sleep. Identification of a major wake-promoting neuronal population advances our understanding of sleep-wake regulation and provides a novel treatment target for future sleep therapies.
Perspectives
The field of neuroscience has only begun to unravel the complexities of the brain and its myriad functions. I am proud of our contribution to the field of sleep research and hope these findings may guide the development of new therapeutics to treat sleep disorders quickly, safely, and effectively.
Dr. Timothy Troppoli
Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System / Harvard Medical School
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Neuronal PAS domain 1 identifies a major subpopulation of wakefulness-promoting GABAergic neurons in the basal forebrain, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, May 2024, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2321410121.
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