Sleep Apnea: Determinants and Consequences

描述(由申请人提供)： 这项建议的主要目标是为申请者提供受保护的时间，使其成为学生、实习生和初级教师的导师。指导工具将由两个研究项目组成，重点是男性性激素对睡眠中呼吸的影响，以及睡眠中长期促进呼吸的决定因素。该研究计划的重点是男性性激素对睡眠时呼吸的影响。具体目标是： 1.探讨LTF在睡眠者中的发生情况及其影响因素。我们假设LTF可以在睡眠中被重复低氧激活，特别是有鼾声和吸气流速受限的受试者。 2.确定LTF是否导致咽腔口径增加和吸气流速受限的改善。我们假设，与胸泵肌肉相比，LTF在上呼吸道扩张肌肉活动中具有优先作用，因此它通过减少上呼吸道阻力来“卸载”上呼吸道。 3.探讨快速眼动睡眠对上呼吸道通畅的影响。我们假设，在快速眼动睡眠期间，咽通畅在腭后和舌后水平都得到了保护。指导计划将根据职业阶段和目标进行个性化。学生将接受有针对性的课程和具体的任务，以提高研究兴趣和培养批判性思维能力。对博士前研究员的指导过程将强调具体的研究技能，包括公开陈述、科学写作和科学辩论，包括理解方法论和外推的局限性。博士后研究员和初级教员的重点将是培养独立研究，从而形成一个独立的(更恰当地说，是“相互依赖”的)研究计划。工作环境出色，机构承诺一流。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The key objective of this proposal is to provide protected time for the applicant to serve as a mentor for students, trainees, and junior faculty. The mentoring vehicle will consist of two research projects focusing on the effects of male sex hormones on breathing during sleep and the determinants of long term-facilitation during sleep. The research plan is focused on the effects of male sex hormones on breathing during sleep. The specific aims are: 1. To investigate the occurrence and determinants of LTF in sleeping humans. We hypothesize that LTF can be activated by repetitive hypoxia in sleeping humans especially subjects with snoring and inspiratory flow limitation. 2. To determine whether LTF results in increased pharyngeal caliber and amelioration of inspiratory flow limitation. We hypothesize that LTF has a preferential effect on upper airway dilating muscle activity relative to thoracic pump muscles and hence it "unloads" the upper airway by reducing upper airway resistance. 3. To investigate the effect of REM sleep on upper airway patency. We hypothesize that pharyngeal patency is preserved during REM sleep both at the retropalatal and retroglossal levels. The mentoring plan will be individualized based on the career stage and objectives. Students will receive a focused curriculum with specific assignments to enhance research interest and nurture critical thinking ability. The mentoring process for pre-doctoral fellows will emphasize specific research skills including public presentation, scientific write up, and scientific debate including understanding the limitations of methodology and extrapolation. The focus in post-doctoral fellows and junior faculty will be to nurture independent research leading to an independent (more aptly called, "interdependent") research program. The work environment is outstanding and the institutional commitment is superb.