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Sites of action of sleep and wake drugs: insights from model organisms

Rihel, J; Schier, AF; (2013) Sites of action of sleep and wake drugs: insights from model organisms. Current Opinion in Neurobiology , 23 (5) pp. 831-840. 10.1016/j.conb.2013.04.010. Green open access

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Abstract

Small molecules have been used since antiquity to regulate our sleep. Despite the explosion of diverse drugs to treat problems of too much or too little sleep, the detailed mechanisms of action and especially the neuronal targets by which these compounds alter human behavioural states are not well understood. Research efforts in model systems such as mouse, zebrafish and fruit fly are combining conditional genetics and optogenetics with pharmacology to map the effects of sleep-promoting drugs onto neural circuits. Recent studies raise the possibility that many small molecules alter sleep and wake via specific sets of critical neurons rather than through the global modulation of multiple brain targets. These findings also uncover novel brain areas as sleep/wake regulators and indicate that the development of circuit-selective drugs might alleviate sleep disorders with fewer side effects.

Type: Article
Title: Sites of action of sleep and wake drugs: insights from model organisms
Location: England
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2013.04.010
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conb.2013.04.010
Language: English
Additional information: © 2013. This manuscript version is published under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial Non-derivative 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). This licence allows you to share, copy, distribute and transmit the work for personal and non-commercial use providing author and publisher attribution is clearly stated. Further details about CC BY licences are available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0.
Keywords: Animals, Brain, Humans, Sleep, Wakefulness
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences > Cell and Developmental Biology
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1394565
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