Understanding of sleep-wake regulatory mechanisms in nature

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20KK0177
• Research Category: Fund for the Promotion of Joint International Research (Fostering Joint International Research (B))
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 48:Biomedical structure and function and related fields
• Research Institution: Nagoya University
• Principal Investigator: Ono Daisuke 名古屋大学, 環境医学研究所, 講師 (30634224)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 池上 啓介 九州大学, 農学研究院, 准教授 (10709330) ; 山仲 勇二郎 北海道大学, 教育学研究院, 准教授 (20528343)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-10-27 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 概日リズム / 神経回路 / 行動リズム / 睡眠 / 自然環境 / 光イメージング / 光遺伝学 / In vivoゲノム編集

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Recent technological developments in optogenetics have led to the identification of neural circuits that regulate various biological phenomena. In mammalian sleep research, neurons involved in the regulation of sleep and wakefulness in the laboratory captive environment have been identified. On the other hand, little research has been conducted on sleep in animals in the wild. Recently, however, it has been suggested that sleep-wake patterns in nature differ significantly from those in the laboratory. In the present study, we have succeeded in inducing nocturnal mice to shift to diurnal behavior by recreating an environment in the laboratory that mimics the natural environment. We also succeeded in developing a tool to measure calcium and cAMP in vivo noninvasively.

Free Research Field

時間生物学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

睡眠はすべての動物に普遍的にみられる生命現象であり、その神経回路や分子が明らかにされつつある。しかしこれらの実験はすべて実験室で行われたものであり、地球上の様々な環境下でみられる睡眠調節メカニズムの解明は皆無と言ってもよい。本研究では、この大きな問題に挑戦し実験室であっても自然環境下と同様な睡眠覚醒様式を示す条件を見出すことに成功した。動物には夜行性と昼行性動物が存在するが、このメカニズムが明らかになれば睡眠の普遍的メカニズムの解明にも結び付き、さらには睡眠障害の新たな治療法の開発にも結び付く事が期待される。