# Sleep Neurobiology and Circuitry

> **NIH VA I01** · RALPH H JOHNSON VA MEDICAL CENTER · 2021 · —

## Abstract

70 million Americans suffer from some sort of sleep disorder. Behavior, mood and memory deteriorate with
sleep loss and it gets worse with continuing sleep deprivation. Lack of sleep has been linked to Alzheimer’s
disease. There is considerable amount of data on the neurons that keep us awake (arousal neurons) whereas
very little is known about the neurons that make us fall asleep. Indeed, current network models of sleep-wake
regulation list many arousal neuronal populations compared to only one sleep group located in the preoptic area.
Better hypnotics will emerge by identifying circuits that directly link specific phenotypes of neurons to sleep. To
provide this evidence, we will use the deep-brain imaging method to visualize activity of phenotype specific
neurons in the hypothalamus, a part of the brain where neurons regulating sleep and arousal are located. Aim
1 will image neurons containing melanin concentrating hormone (MCH) based on our evidence published in the
last funding period that optogenetic stimulation of these neurons robustly increases both non-REM and REM
sleep in mice and rats. Aim 2 will use new retrograde axon-track tracing tools to insert ChR2 into projection
specific MCH neurons to mechanistically demonstrate that driving specific circuits induces sleep. The CLARITY
method will be used to visualize the circuit. In Aim 3, optogenetics will drive these circuits to induce sleep in
conditions of high arousal. Solid preliminary data are presented for all aims indicating that these methods are
operational in the lab, and that the project will be completed successfully.
 From a translational perspective these studies are potentially useful in sleep disorders, such as insomnia,
where sleep needs to be triggered against a strong arousal drive. These aims will provide a framework for
integrating the sleep-active neurons within an overall model of sleep-wake regulation.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10045552
- **Project number:** 5I01BX000798-11
- **Recipient organization:** RALPH H JOHNSON VA MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Priyattam J. Shiromani
- **Activity code:** I01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2010-10-01 → 2022-09-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10045552

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10045552, Sleep Neurobiology and Circuitry (5I01BX000798-11). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10045552. Licensed CC0.

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