[Seminar] Does Synaptic Strength Encode Sleep Need?

Speaker:

Dr. Shoi Shi, Principal Investigator,
International Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine (IIIS), University of Tsukuba

Abstract:

Understanding the transition between wakefulness and sleep is a central question in neuroscience. Recent findings indicate that homeostatic sleep regulation spans multiple levels of biological organization—from molecular phosphorylation to whole-brain dynamics. In our studies, we combined mathematical modeling, molecular tool development, and sleep neuroscience to demonstrate that increases in synaptic strength can trigger sleep onset and promote deeper and longer sleep. These results provide evidence for a causal link between synaptic-level changes and sleep behavior. In this talk, I will outline our recently published data alongside novel unpublished findings to address whether synaptic strength encodes sleep needs and to delineate the specific molecular mechanisms involved.