# Influence of sleep-like states on mosquito behavior and physiology

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI · 2022 · $202,120

## Abstract

Project summary
Sleep is critical for nearly all animals. This state is characterized by a specific set of parameters for each species
however there is a lack of sleep-based studies in mosquitoes. This should be considered a major knowledge
gap in mosquito biology and potentially hinders the development of new control methods and our understanding
of factors influencing vectorial capacity. Our preliminary studies suggest that there will likely be explicit factors
underlying mosquito sleep, which need to be fully characterized to define this biological state in mosquitoes. The
focus of the proposed work is to provide the first extensive characterization of mosquito sleep. After sleep has
been defind, studies on the manipulation of sleep will discern how reduced sleep (e.g., induced by human activity
in urban areas) may alter behavioral and physiological aspects of mosquitoes such as host preference, blood-
feeding, reproductive output, and viral transmission. These studies are supported by the following: 1) Historic
and our preliminary observations of putative sleep postures of mosquitoes, 2) Initial activity monitoring results
that establish that day and night active mosquitoes sleep at higher rates during the night and day, respectively,
3) targeted studies suggesting that sleep can be prevented by mechanical disturbance that impacts subsequent
host landing, 4) Preliminary data showing a reduction of spontaneous neural activity after prolonged rest, 5) Our
development of novel sensory deprivation equipment that allows for mosquito observation without host
interference to pinpoint differences that could be related to mosquito sleep-like states, and 6) Integrative and
innovative experimental design that ranges from basic behavioral analyses to neuronal recording that will provide
an encompassing view of the mosquito sleep state. This study has two specific aims:
Specific Aim 1. Establishing the characteristics associated with sleep-like states in mosquitoes.
Specific Aim 2. Defining shifts in mosquito fitness, behavior, and viral transmission following sleep deprivation.
Upon completion of these specific aims, our expected outcomes are to have defined sleep-like states in
mosquitoes and, subsequently, how sleep deprivation impacts a range of epidemiologically relevant biological
aspects. This will be transformative to the research field and will set the stage for multiple lines of research. Most
importantly, these studies will create a novel paradigm, where aspects of mosquito biology should be measured
under two independent periods: a non-resting (no sleep) and sleep-like status. Finally, our anticipated results
are likely to inform on the adaptations of mosquitoes to urban areas where host activity patterns and light/dark
conditions are decoupled from day/night successions and could impact sleep, mosquito-host interactions, and
potentially patterns of disease transmission.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10527826
- **Project number:** 1R21AI166633-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI
- **Principal Investigator:** Josh B. Benoit
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $202,120
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-07-01 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10527826

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10527826, Influence of sleep-like states on mosquito behavior and physiology (1R21AI166633-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-29 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10527826. Licensed CC0.

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