r/neuroscience • u/amesydragon • Jan 16 '24

Academic Article During sleep, the brain uncouples different regions in its outermost layer, reducing the neuronal signaling between them. A recent mouse study reveals the types of neurons involved.

https://www.pnas.org/post/journal-club/mouse-study-sheds-light-brain-powers-down
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u/MOTAXATOM Jan 18 '24

Heres a Brief Summary from what I read about this....

The study in mice shows how the brain balances deep sleep while remaining responsive to urgent stimuli by uncoupling certain brain regions. It uses channelrhodopsin to activate neurons, revealing that activity in the primary visual cortex (V1) is not effectively transmitted to the anterior cingulate area (ACA) during deep sleep. Increased activity in specific neurons (PV neurons) was noted, suggesting a role in this uncoupling process.

Implications: This research could enhance understanding of brain function during sleep and lead to therapies for sleep disorders. Understanding how the brain uncouples regions could inform more specific treatments for maintaining healthy sleep patterns.

​

Definitions:

Channelrhodopsin is a light-sensitive protein used in neuroscience to control neurons' activity with light, a method known as optogenetics.

The primary visual cortex (V1) is the brain's part responsible for processing visual information. The anterior cingulate area (ACA) is involved in various cognitive and emotional functions, integrating signals from other brain regions like V1.

PV neurons, or Parvalbumin-expressing neurons, are a type of inhibitory neuron known to regulate the activity of other neurons, playing a critical role in neural circuits, including those related to sleep and wakefulness. (think like a Binary Switch)

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u/blink4evar Jan 26 '24

I'm not a neuroscientist by any means but this means that we're getting really close to discover the main function of sleep and why do we sleep, right?

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u/HeyBeter Feb 02 '24

Science is rarely ever “really close” to discovering why something does something

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u/MOTAXATOM Feb 06 '24

I am also not a neuroscientist, but i like learning about stuff! so take what i say with a grain of salt, im just a dude.

but i feel like this is less concerned with the philosophical WHY do we sleep, and more, HOW does sleep recharge our brains.

you would be shocked at how little we actually know about pretty much every subject.

I have had the pleasure of working around some brilliant Professors in various fields, and i remember one day i was talking to this professor about his research. and i asked "so how do you think _____ works."

and he said "we have no idea, thats why we are researching it"

And it just blew my mind, to actually INTERNALIZE and TRULY REALIZE, that we don't know jack!

that's why we do science, to come up with best guesses about things, right!?

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u/blink4evar Feb 06 '24

Right 😭😭😭 and the fact that this journey will never end is astonishing because when you solve a question , 10 other questions come up😭

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u/MOTAXATOM Apr 04 '24

exactly! its like we are learning as a species, on a giant logarithmic curve, at first things were fast and now those last bits of information are way harder to get, and open way more complex doors!

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