Objective
Sleep is essential for human and animal life and is broadly conserved. The nervous system induces sleep through the activation of sleep-active sleep-promoting neurons but the key mechanisms of sleep control remain to be elucidated. Recent work from my lab showed that the C. elegans nervous system contains a single sleep-active sleep-promoting neuron, called RIS, which is GABAergic and peptidergic as is its vertebrate counterpart. C. elegans shows sleep behavior and allows the easy combination of behavioral assays with functional neural imaging and genetics. Here I propose to study the single neuron RIS as a highly simplified model of a sleep-active neuron. This is a unique and novel approach to sleep research and my expertise on sleep behavior in C. elegans puts me into a pole position to study sleep. I will elucidate the molecular mechanism of activation of sleep-active neurons, analyze the mechanism of homeostasis of sleep-active neurons, and determine the molecular mechanisms by which sleep-active neurons induce sleep in the nervous system. I will combine transcriptional profiling of sleep-active neurons with physiological assays such as functional neural imaging, genetic screening, optogenetics, and functional molecular analysis of mutants. Using the highly simplified C. elegans model, I will boost sleep research and gain mechanistic insight into the regulation of sleep behavior through sleep-active neurons. This will be the first time that sleep-active neurons have been dissected in this way and I expect to identify novel conserved molecular and circuitry mechanisms. This work should provide the basis for understanding the more complex systems that control sleep in vertebrates and for understanding human sleep disorders.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine psychiatry sleep disorders
- natural sciences biological sciences neurobiology
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology mammalogy
- medical and health sciences basic medicine physiology homeostasis
- natural sciences biological sciences molecular biology
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
ERC-STG - Starting Grant
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2014-STG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
01069 DRESDEN
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.