# Sleep control by the preoptic area of the hypothalamus

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2020 · $354,375

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Sleep is a fundamental behavior that is widely observed across the animal kingdom. Sleep is characterized by
repeated brain state transitions between rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM (NREM) sleep. Sleep
states and transitions between them are regulated by reciprocal interactions between neuronal populations and
homeostatic need. At present, we lack detailed understanding of the brain mechanisms controlling sleep. The
preoptic area of the hypothalamus is crucial for sleep control and contains neurons that are active during sleep
and are necessary for sleep. One challenge is that wake, REM and NREM-active neurons are intermingled
within the preoptic area, making it difficult to specifically target REM and NREM-active neurons for circuit
analysis. We previously showed that subsets of preoptic neurons expressing cholecystokinin or corticotropin-
releasing hormone promote both REM and NREM sleep whereas tachykinin 1 expressing neurons promote
only NREM sleep. These findings serve as a valuable entry point for exploring the role of the preoptic sleep
circuitry in controlling REM and NREM sleep, brain state transitions and homeostatic regulation of both sleep
states. In Aim 1, we will investigate circuit mechanisms to understand how these subsets of preoptic neurons
regulate REM and NREM sleep through their interactions with downstream targets. In Aim 2, we will
investigate the mechanisms how preoptic sleep neurons integrate homeostatic pressure in response to REM
and NREM sleep loss. Accomplishing these aims will provide important circuit-level insights into the neural
basis of sleep regulation, with potential relevance to understand and develop novel therapeutic interventions
for sleep disorders.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9910477
- **Project number:** 5R01NS110865-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Shinjae Chung
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $354,375
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-04-15 → 2024-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9910477

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9910477, Sleep control by the preoptic area of the hypothalamus (5R01NS110865-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9910477. Licensed CC0.

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