# Neuropeptide Cortistatin: A potential neocortical regulator of sleep homeostasis

> **NIH NIH F32** · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $56,400

## Abstract

Project summary|
An estimated 50-70 million people in the United States have a sleep disorder. In addition, countless others in
modern society receive insufficient or inadequate sleep, resulting in incalculable health, cognitive, and economic
costs. Chronic sleep loss is associated with an increased prevalence for nearly every major chronic disease,
including obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and heart attacks. Despite this, much is unknown about the
mechanisms regulating sleep and wakefulness. Even less is known about the processes that drive sleep
following prolonged wakefulness, limiting treatment options and targets for the health and cognitive impacts of
sleep deprivation. The neuropeptide Cortistatin is a sleep-promoting peptide expressed in inhibitory interneurons
of the neocortex, and may play a unique and integral role in regulating sleep drive following extended
wakefulness. Infusion of the Cortistatin peptide drives animals to sleep and augments the low frequency cortical
activity associated with slow wave sleep. Importantly, deletion of the receptor for the brain-derived neurotrophic
factor (BDNF), an important growth factor in sleep regulation and neuronal plasticity, specifically in Cortistatin-
expressing interneurons but not in other cortical interneuron subtypes, results in severe hyperexcitability,
seizures, and premature death. Cortistatin, therefore, may be in an integral signaling molecule at the nexus of
sleep regulation, memory consolidation, and synaptic plasticity. This proposal aims to use the latest genetic tools
and experimental techniques, including in vivo fiber photometry, optogenetics, chemogenetics, and newly
developed optical constructs to investigate the hypothesis that the neuropeptide Cortistatin is a critical regulator
of sleep and cognitive function. Findings from this proposal may lead to fundamental insight into the mechanisms
driving sleep, as well as provide a potential novel therapeutic target for sleep disorders and cognitive impairment
resulting from insufficient sleep.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10067494
- **Project number:** 1F32HL154792-01
- **Recipient organization:** STANFORD UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Christopher Caleb Angelakos
- **Activity code:** F32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $56,400
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-03 → 2021-07-02

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10067494

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10067494, Neuropeptide Cortistatin: A potential neocortical regulator of sleep homeostasis (1F32HL154792-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10067494. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*