# Molecular and genetic analysis of sleep ontogeny

> **NIH NIH R56** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2020 · $405,208

## Abstract

Sleep in early life is hypothesized to facilitate structural maturation of the brain. Childhood sleep disturbances
portend later neurocognitive deficits and are highly prevalent across neurobehavioral disorders; sleep
abnormalities during development may in fact contribute to aberrant neural circuit formation. Improving sleep
by targeting regulatory pathways may thus represent a new therapeutic avenue in neurodevelopmental
disease. However, the molecular and genetic factors controlling early life sleep remain largely unknown,
hindering design of sleep-related strategies. In fact, there are no genes known to specifically influence
developmental changes to sleep. Using an RNAi-based genetic screen in Drosophila, we identified a
transcription factor, pdm3, that regulates ontogenetic sleep changes. The overall goal of this proposal is to
characterize the genetic and molecular pathways controlling sleep ontogenetic changes by investigating the
function of PDM3 in Drosophila. Specifically, we will define the cellular mechanisms through which PDM3
controls juvenile sleep (Aim 1) and identify the molecular signals downstream of PDM3 that coordinate sleep
ontogeny (Aim 2). We will then manipulate pdm3 to investigate how loss of the juvenile sleep state affects
brain and behavioral maturation (Aim 3). Our proposal utilizes a diverse array of approaches, including
behavioral, genetic, and imaging. Dissecting the molecular genetic control of sleep ontogeny will yield new
insights into the regulation of early life sleep, deepening our understanding of the link between sleep ontogeny
and neurobehavioral pathology.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10201379
- **Project number:** 1R56NS109144-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** MATTHEW S KAYSER
- **Activity code:** R56 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $405,208
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-15 → 2021-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10201379

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10201379, Molecular and genetic analysis of sleep ontogeny (1R56NS109144-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10201379. Licensed CC0.

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