BEHAVIORAL AND PHYSIOLOGIC PATHOBIOLOGY OF MICE

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Principal Investigator's (PI) long-term career objectives are to: 1) continue to contribute in a meaningful way to basic research on the mechanisms and functions of sleep; 2) enhance resources and training that will support the continued growth of biomedical research at the SIU School of Medicine; and 3) advocate the value of and need for the humane and judicious use of animal models to expedite the elucidation of causes, treatments, cures, and prevention of human disease. The PI's past and current service and administrative responsibilities has limited the time available for introducing new research methodology into the laboratory, for mentoring students and other trainees, and for actively participating in collaborative research as a specialist in mouse pathobiology. The relief from institutional service offered by this award will allow the PI the time to accomplish the following Specific Aims: 1) to develop skills in new analytic (microarray technology) and behavioral [sleep deprivation (SD), depression, and anxiety] methodologies for application to interests in delineating the immune modulatory role of sleep; 2) to increase mentoring efforts directed toward both students and faculty; and 3) to initiate collaborations that will promote and support the study of mouse models of human disease. Research goals for this proposal focus on defining the health implications of inadequate sleep. Sleepiness and poor sleep quality broadly influence measures of general health status, particularly impacting perceptions about energy, fatigue, and self-sufficiency. Sleep fragmentation, non-restorative sleep, and inadequate sleep are commonly assumed to adversely impact host defense capabilities. However, these relationships have not been empirically defined. Some studies in animals suggest that inadequate or poor-quality sleep may increase susceptibility to disease, exacerbate symptoms of disease, or delay recuperation. The development and use of an appropriate animal model to evaluate the relationships between sleep, sleep loss, and susceptibility to or recuperation from infectious or inflammatory disease is the primary research goal of this application.