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Tweaking dreams: non-invasive modulation of the level and content of mental activity during sleep

Descrizione del progetto

Nuovi strumenti per lo studio del cervello durante il sonno

I meccanismi del sonno vengono studiati da decenni, ma molti aspetti restano un mistero. Ciò che è noto è che il sonno è un fenomeno regolato a livello locale in cui le isole corticali dell’attività dello stato di sonno, e di veglia, possono coesistere. Inoltre, questa attività è collegata alla presenza di attività mentale, e al suo contenuto, durante il sonno. In altri termini, i sogni sarebbero il risultato di «risvegli localizzati» nel cervello altrimenti in stato di sonno. Il progetto TweakDreams, finanziato dall’UE, studierà i meccanismi che regolano il sonno a livello locale grazie all’impiego di proprietà note del sistema talamo-corticale. Il progetto stabilirà se particolari protocolli di stimolazione sensoriale possano rendere possibile la modulazione diretta dell’intensità del sonno in maniera localizzata e specifica per singole aree.

Obiettivo

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.

Meccanismo di finanziamento

ERC-STG - Starting Grant

Istituzione ospitante

SCUOLA IMT (ISTITUZIONI, MERCATI, TECNOLOGIE) ALTI STUDI DI LUCCA
Contribution nette de l'UE
€ 1 488 270,00
Indirizzo
PIAZZA SAN PONZIANO 6
55100 Lucca
Italia

Mostra sulla mappa

Regione
Centro (IT) Toscana Lucca
Tipo di attività
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Collegamenti
Costo totale
€ 1 488 270,00

Beneficiari (1)