Final Report Summary - INSTINCTIVE DRIVES (Orchestration of instinctive drives)
Our project focussed on brain orexin neurons, which are necessary for stable consciousness and normal metabolic balance in mammals (loss of orexin neurons produces narcolepsy and weight gain). During the project we elucidated biophysical mechanisms that allow orexin neurons to generate their behaviour-regulating nerve impulses, discovered new ways to tune the activity of orexin neurons with diet, found how orexin neurons talk to other brain centres, and revealed an unexpected overactivity of orexin neurons in Huntington’s disease. In collaboration with other labs, we also helped to establish a neighbouring population of neurons (melanin-concentrating-hormone cells) as generators of REM (“dream”) sleep.