Project description DEENESFRITPL New tools to investigate the brain during sleep The mechanisms of sleep have been studied for decades, but many aspects remain a mystery. What is known is that sleep is a locally regulated phenomenon in which cortical islands of sleep- and wake-like activity can coexist. This activity is also related to the presence and content of mental activity during sleep. In other words, dreams would be the result of ‘local awakenings’ in the otherwise sleeping brain. The EU-funded TweakDreams project will study the mechanisms regulating sleep at a local level through the exploitation of known properties of the thalamocortical system. The project will determine whether particular sensory-stimulation protocols can make it possible to directly modulate sleep intensity in a local, region-specific manner. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective Sleep and wakefulness have traditionally been regarded as two mutually exclusive states characterized by differences in consciousness and responsiveness to the environment. However, the last two decades of research have demonstrated that sleep is actually a locally regulated phenomenon and that cortical islands of sleep- and wake-like activity can often coexist across distinct brain areas. Intriguingly, this mosaic of activity is also directly related to the presence and content of mental activity during sleep. In line with this, many sleep disorders, including insomnia and arousal disorders, are associated with significant local alterations in the balance between wake- and sleep-like activity. In spite of these considerations, the classical view of sleep as a uniform global state is still dominant in both basic and clinical research. Moreover, it remains unclear whether the occurrence of local wake-like activity is related to specific physiological functions of sleep.The objective of this project is to progress towards a deep understanding of the mechanisms that regulate sleep at a local level through the exploitation of known properties of the thalamocortical system. At the core of the proposal is the idea that particular sensory-stimulation protocols may allow to directly modulate sleep intensity in a local, region-specific manner. Such approaches could be used to non-invasively perturbate regional sleep-related brain activity, thus allowing to investigate the causal consequences on sleep mentation, subjective sleep quality and sleep-related functions, including learning and memory. Of note, the same approaches could also find application in counteracting alterations of local sleep regulation in pathological conditions.Knowledge gathered within the project could yield potential breakthroughs in numerous key applications of tremendous clinical, social and economic interest including treatment of sleep disorders and prevention of sleepiness-related accidents. Fields of science medical and health sciencesclinical medicinepsychiatrysleep disorders Keywords sleep dreams electroencephalography Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme Topic(s) ERC-2020-STG - ERC STARTING GRANTS Call for proposal ERC-2020-STG See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-STG - Starting Grant Host institution SCUOLA IMT (ISTITUZIONI, MERCATI, TECNOLOGIE) ALTI STUDI DI LUCCA Net EU contribution € 1 488 270,00 Address PIAZZA SAN PONZIANO 6 55100 Lucca Italy See on map Region Centro (IT) Toscana Lucca Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 1 488 270,00 Beneficiaries (1) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all SCUOLA IMT (ISTITUZIONI, MERCATI, TECNOLOGIE) ALTI STUDI DI LUCCA Italy Net EU contribution € 1 488 270,00 Address PIAZZA SAN PONZIANO 6 55100 Lucca See on map Region Centro (IT) Toscana Lucca Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 1 488 270,00
