# Molecular, Cellular and Circuit Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Hippocampal Function

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF IOWA · 2020 · $502,109

## Abstract

Project Summary. The demands of modern society, career pressures, and technological advances in
personal electronics and communication have increased sleep deprivation and sleep disorders across age
groups. Sleep deprivation adversely impacts individual health with increased disease incidence and decreased
cognitive function resulting in increased medical care, as well as occupational and traffic accidents. The
negative impact of sleep deprivation on memory can be observed across species suggesting that the sleep
deprivation may alter highly conserved molecular and cellular mechanisms to impact memory. The
hippocampus is an excellent model to investigate the neural impacts of sleep deprivation as hippocampal
activity is necessary for spatial memory and this type of memory is particularly susceptible to sleep deprivation.
Current evidence indicates that sleep loss impairs the formation and stability of memories at the cellular level
through changes in the synapses of individual neurons. However, the specific basis of how sleep deprivation
adversely affects memory and how the brain can be rendered resilient to these effects remains poorly
understood. It is critical to define the cellular, molecular and network mechanisms through which sleep
deprivation impacts neural function given not only the rising incidence of sleep deprivation but also the
aggravating impact of sleep loss on many neuropsychiatric, neurological and neurodegenerative disorders. Our
previous research has identified decreased second messenger signaling, suppression of protein synthesis and
changes in neuron dendritic structure as pathways through which sleep deprivation affects memory. However,
it remains unknown if sleep deprivation separately impacts targets in each of these pathways or if the effects of
sleep deprivation are mediated through a central molecular node. The objective of this proposal is to identify
the molecular and neuronal mechanisms through which sleep loss impairs synaptic plasticity and memory
formation by focusing on the molecular, cellular and network mechanisms through which resilience to sleep
deprivation can occur. In Specific Aim 1, we use a novel transgenic approach we developed to spatially and
temporally manipulate a second messenger signaling pathway. This will allow us to investigate the molecular
mechanisms which underlie neuronal resilience to the detrimental effects of sleep loss. In Specific Aim 2, we
investigate several types of hippocampal synaptic plasticity targeted by sleep deprivation at the neuronal level
to identify which is associated with resilience. In Specific Aim 3, we identify the network and circuit properties
of neurons affected by sleep deprivation using in vivo recordings from large neuronal populations. The results
from our comprehensive experimental approach at the behavioral, biochemical, molecular, and
electrophysiological levels will provide significant insights into the molecular signature that promotes resilience
to the...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9963359
- **Project number:** 5R01MH117964-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
- **Principal Investigator:** EDWIN TED G. ABEL
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $502,109
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-10 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9963359

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9963359, Molecular, Cellular and Circuit Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Hippocampal Function (5R01MH117964-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9963359. Licensed CC0.

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