Author: Thomas Kilduff

Melanin concentrating hormone-producing neurons (MCH neurons) in the hypothalamus actively contribute to forgetting in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.

We investigated the effects of TAAR1 agonism in Cynomolgus macaques, a diurnal species that exhibits consolidated night-time sleep, and evaluated the effects of TAAR1 agonists on cognition using a working memory paradigm in this species.

We have proposed that cortical nNOS/NK1R interneurons have a role in sleep homeostasis.

Although only a few drugs have received regulatory approval for narcolepsy to date, treatment involves diverse medications that affect multiple biochemical targets and neural circuits.

We sought to define basal sleep characteristics, sleep/wake architecture and electroencephalographic activity in a diurnal non-human primate (NHP) to evaluate the utility of this species for pharmacological manipulation of the sleep/wake cycle.

We performed chemogenetic excitation of LH neurons in mice and observed increased wakefulness that lasted more than 4 h without unusual behavior or EEG anomalies.

Here, we report that locomotor and EEG spectral responses to the psychostimulants modafinil and caffeine are attenuated in TAAR1 KO mice.

Cholinergic (ACh) basal forebrain (BF) neurons are active during wakefulness and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and are involved in sleep homeostasis.

Here, we evaluated sleep/wake physiology and behavioral phenotypes of rats with genetic ablation of Nlgn3.

We used the expression of plasticity-related genes to assess synaptic plasticity changes during drug-induced sleep.

This issue of ‘Current Opinion of Neurobiology’ highlights some of the new research insights into sleep/wake control and sleep function afforded by this expanded research armamentarium.

We used Taar1 knockout and overexpressing mice and TAAR1 agonists to elucidate the role of TAAR1 in sleep/wake. EEG, EMG, body temperature, and locomotor activity were recorded in Taar1 KO, OE, and WT mice.