UF1NS126562

Whole-brain functional imaging and analysis of zebrafish sleep - Abstract

Sleep occupies a third of our lives and sleep-related ailments cost an estimated $100 billion per year, yet the mechanisms governing its regulation remain poorly understood. Despite the substantial progress that has been made in the discovery and understanding of specific sleep-promoting and wake-promoting neuronal and molecular pathways, what is missing is an integrated understanding of how these mechanisms work together in the brain to regulate sleep and wake as whole-brain behavioral states.

Toward this goal, we propose a conceptually simple yet powerful approach: record the activity of every neuron in the brain during normal sleep and wake states, and in response to perturbations that induce these states, then apply mathematical analysis and modeling to uncover fundamental principles that underlie sleep.

The main goals of this exploratory project are to develop and validate imaging, analysis, and modeling tools that will serve as a foundation for a subsequent larger-scale application that will comprehensively identify and characterize sleep-regulating circuits, and generate models to explain the neuronal circuit principles that underlie sleep.

We will use the small and transparent larval zebrafish, a vertebrate model with well-characterized sleep behavior whose regulation is conserved with that of mammals. Using this model and our custom-developed two-photon selective plane illumination microscopy (2P-SPIM) platform, we will perform whole-brain recordings of neuronal activity with cellular-resolution during both natural and induced sleep and wake states.

We will then apply mathematical tools to extract insights from these whole-brain recordings to identify the neural substrates that underlie sleep. Our analysis will allow us to both test existing models of sleep regulation and to propose new models based on our data.

This project will be the first to achieve comprehensive observation and analysis of vertebrate sleep at such scale and resolution. The unique insights gained from these studies will pave the way toward a more complete understanding of the neuronal mechanisms that underlie sleep, whose dysfunction imposes a significant burden on society.

California Institute Of Technology

(1) TO SUPPORT EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH FUNDED BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS AND STROKE (NINDS) INCLUDING: BASIC RESEARCH THAT EXPLORES THE FUNDAMENTAL STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE BRAIN AND THE NERVOUS SYSTEM, RESEARCH TO UNDERSTAND THE CAUSES AND ORIGINS OF PATHOLOGICAL CONDITIONS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM WITH THE GOAL OF PREVENTING THESE DISORDERS, RESEARCH ON THE NATURAL COURSE OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS, IMPROVED METHODS OF DISEASE PREVENTION, NEW METHODS OF DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT, DRUG DEVELOPMENT, DEVELOPMENT OF NEURAL DEVICES, CLINICAL TRIALS, AND RESEARCH TRAINING IN BASIC, TRANSLATIONAL AND CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCE. THE INSTITUTE IS THE LARGEST FUNDER OF BASIC NEUROSCIENCE IN THE US AND SUPPORTS RESEARCH ON TOPICS INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO: DEVELOPMENT OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM, INCLUDING NEUROGENESIS AND PROGENITOR CELL BIOLOGY, SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION IN DEVELOPMENT AND PLASTICITY, AND PROGRAMMED CELL DEATH, SYNAPSE FORMATION, FUNCTION, AND PLASTICITY, LEARNING AND MEMORY, CHANNELS, TRANSPORTERS, AND PUMPS, CIRCUIT FORMATION AND MODULATION, BEHAVIORAL AND COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE, SENSORIMOTOR LEARNING, INTEGRATION AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTION, NEUROENDOCRINE SYSTEMS, SLEEP AND CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS, AND SENSORY AND MOTOR SYSTEMS. IN ADDITION, THE INSTITUTE SUPPORTS BASIC, TRANSLATIONAL AND CLINICAL STUDIES ON A NUMBER OF DISORDERS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM INCLUDING (BUT NOT LIMITED TO): STROKE, TRAUMATIC INJURY TO THE BRAIN, SPINAL CORD AND PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM, NEURODEGENERATIVE DISORDERS, MOVEMENT DISORDERS, BRAIN TUMORS, CONVULSIVE DISORDERS, INFECTIOUS DISORDERS OF THE BRAIN AND NERVOUS SYSTEM, IMMUNE DISORDERS OF THE BRAIN AND NERVOUS SYSTEM, INCLUDING MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS, DISORDERS RELATED TO SLEEP, AND PAIN. PROGRAMMATIC AREAS, WHICH ARE PRIMARILY SUPPORTED BY THE DIVISION OF NEUROSCIENCE, ARE ALSO SUPPORTED BY THE DIVISION OF EXTRAMURAL ACTIVITIES, THE DIVISION OF TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH, THE DIVISION OF CLINICAL RESEARCH, THE OFFICE OF TRAINING AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, THE OFFICE OF PROGRAMS TO ENHANCE NEUROSCIENCE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, AND THE OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES. (2) TO EXPAND AND IMPROVE THE SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM, TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, TO INCREASE SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION IN FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION. TO UTILIZE THE SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (STTR) PROGRAM, TO STIMULATE AND FOSTER SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION THROUGH COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CARRIED OUT BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO FOSTER TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION.

93.853 - Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NNDS) [HHS - NIH]

California United States

State-Wide

BRAIN Initiative: Exploratory Team-Research BRAIN Circuit Programs - eTeamBCP (U01 Clinical Trials Optional) (RFA-NS-20-029)

Amendment Since initial award the End Date has been extended from 04/30/25 to 04/30/26 and the total obligations have increased 5% from $3,210,336 to $3,378,681.