[ONOS Seminar Series] Professor. Shoi Shi: Deciphering the Mystery of Sleep: the insights from comparative neuroscience

Sleep is a physiological phenomenon that demonstrates conservation across all biological entities which have neural system. Within-species constancy and interspecies variation in sleep duration suggests it is subjected to genetic regulation. The timing of sleep is primarily regulated by endogenous circadian rhythms. However, the quantity of daily sleep an organism requires is controlled by an elusive element termed 'sleep pressure'. The precise nature of sleep pressure remains largely undefined, posing one of the most significant questions in sleep research. In recent years, multilayered investigations have been accumulating, providing insights into sleep pressure at varying biological levels, including brain region, cellular, and molecular layers.  

In this seminar, I provide an overview of the recent advancements in research surrounding sleep pressure, highlighting our contributions aimed at uncovering the realities of this complex phenomenon across the aforementioned biological layers. Furthermore, we delve into the dynamic nature of sleep, a unique aspect that allows genetically regulated sleep patterns to modulate in response to environmental stimuli. I provide our recent efforts in comprehending this plasticity of sleep, wherein robust genetic regulations adapt to environmental inputs. 

Onsite: L4F01

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