2015年到现在,在加州大学伯克利分校,美国科学院院士Yang Dan 教授的实验室继续做博后。研究方向为控制睡眠的神经回路生物学机制。
报告摘要:
The preoptic area (POA) plays a vital role in mammalian sleep, but the specific neurons controlling REM and non-REM (NREM) sleep are only partially identified. Here we show that POA GABAergic neurons expressing neurotensin (NTS) selectively and powerfully promote NREM sleep. Activating these neurons, either optogenetically or chemogenetically, strongly promoted NREM sleep at the expense of both wakefulness and REM sleep, whereas their inactivation greatly increased wakefulness and reduced sleep. Rabies-mediated circuit tracing revealed their innervation of multiple wake-promoting cell types in the brainstem, hypothalamus, and basal forebrain. Furthermore, CRISPR/Cas9-mediated NTS knockdown in these neurons significantly reduced their NREM-promoting effect. These findings indicate that POA NTS neurons promote NREM sleep through both their wide-ranging GABAergic projections and NTS peptide signaling.