Probing the Interactions Between Sleep and Learning

描述(申请人提供)：黑腹果蝇睡眠和学习之间的相互作用：PDF靶神经元的作用是什么？ 了解睡眠的性质和目的是目前神经科学研究的主要目标之一。很明显，睡眠是由昼夜节律和动态平衡系统共同调节的，而睡眠和记忆的形成是紧密相连的。然而，目前还不清楚在电路和分子水平上是什么机制调节了这些相互作用。在这里提出的研究中，强大的果蝇模型系统将被用来解决这些问题。最近的研究表明，曾经被认为纯粹是昼夜节律系统一部分的一群细胞，也在调节体内平衡睡眠方面发挥了作用。这些是腹侧神经元(LNV)，产生多肽类神经递质PDF。然而，目前尚不清楚这些细胞的关键靶点是什么，也不知道它们是否参与了生物体在睡眠剥夺或学习后需要额外睡眠的信号。通过将增加和降低LNV靶细胞兴奋性的遗传操作与尖端的电生理记录相结合，这项研究将扩大我们对动物用来调节睡眠和记忆形成的电路和分子水平策略的理解。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Interactions between sleep and learning in Drosophila melanogaster: what is the role of PDF target neurons? Understanding the nature and purpose of sleep is currently one of the major goals in neuroscience research. It is clear that sleep is regulated by a combination of circadian and homeostatic systems, and that sleep and memory formation are tightly linked. However, it remains unclear what mechanisms at the circuit and molecular levels mediate these interactions. In the studies proposed here, the powerful Drosophila model system will be used to tackle these issues. It has recently been shown that a cluster of cells once thought to be purely part of the circadian system also play a role in homeostatic sleep regulation. These are the ventral lateral neurons (LNvs), which produce the peptide neurotransmitter PDF. However, it is unknown what the crucial targets of these cells are, or if they are involved in signaling that an organism needs additional sleep following sleep deprivation or learning. By combining genetic manipulations to both increase and decrease the excitability of LNv target cells with cutting edge electrophysiological recordings, this research will expand our understanding of the circuit- and molecular-level strategies that animals use to modulate sleep and memory formation.