Year: 2020
Type: review
Abstract: Feeding and sleep are essential for life. They are thought to be reciprocally connected, but mechanisms behind this link remain mysterious. This has partly been due to a lack of causal knowledge about how specific neuronal attributes (firing rates, transmitter synthesis) affect sleep. Recently, however, technological breakthroughs established that changes in firing of certain molecularly defined neurons rapidly alter sleep parameters. Thus, a fundamental question can now be addressed: do nutrients acutely change firing rates of neurons implicated in sleep control, and does this alter sleep? Here we review data suggesting that the hypothalamus is particularly useful for investigating this, since it contains molecularly distinct neurons whose firing is both acutely sensitive to nutrient levels, and can alter sleep-wake states. We discuss why existing data do not yet answer the above question, and propose experiments for advancing this. Furthermore, we highlight emerging broader brain circuitries that may link diet and sleep.
Source: Current Opinion in Physiology
Authors: Denis Burdakov, Antoine Adamantidis
Institutions: ETH Zurich, University of Bern, University Hospital of Bern
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,500
Funders: National Science Foundation, Human Frontier Science Program, University of Bern, Inselspital, Universitätsspital Bern, Human Frontier Science Program, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, European Research Council, H2020 European Research Council
Awards: Optogenetic dissection of hypothalamic regulation of sleep-wake states, G1490923310, All-optical deconstruction of thalamic control of sleep-wake states., Neural basis of behavioural multitasking and coordination by specific hypothalamic circuits, How does maternal diet reprogram the brain susceptibility to overeating and/or drug addiction in subsequent generations?, Sleep as a model to understand and manipulate cortical activity in order to promote neuroplasticity and functional recovery after stroke
OpenAlex ID: W3023642304