"The arousal construct underlies a spectrum of behaviors that include sleep, exploration, feeding, sexual activity and adaptive stress. Pathological arousal conditions include stress, anxiety disorders, and addiction. In the past few years we have used optogenetics to interrogate neuronal circuits underlying transitions between arousal states. The neuropeptide hypocretin, also known as orexin, has been considered a Rosetta stone to decipher the mechanisms of sleep regulation, as its deficiency leads to disrupted sleep architecture associated with narcolepsy. In my presentation, I will :
- Discuss how the hypocretin system makes the decisions about when to mark the transition between sleep and wakefulness.
- Describe three levels of integration of Hcrt neurons that receive inputs from circadian, metabolic and limbic regions.
- Characterize outputs of Hcrt neurons, that include norepinephrine neurons in the locus coeruleus, histaminergic neurons in the hypothalamus, and cholinergic neurons in the basal forebrain.
- Present new data on the role of mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons in vigilance state transitions
- Discuss a theoretical framework that integrates all of these concepts and makes it possible to predict transitions between vigilance states.
Together, the data generated using cell-type specific interrogation of genetically identified neuronal circuits associated with arousal state will be essential to develop treatments of sleep disorders with high precision.""Las opiniones expresadas por los ponentes no reflejan, necesariamente, las de la Fundación Ramón Areces ni de las instituciones en las que trabajan"
