Genetic Regulation of Sleep Homeostasis

Gene Expression During Sleep Deprivation and Recovery Sleep Candidate Gene Studies 

At least four experimental approaches have been used to study the role of gene expression in association with arousal states (a) gene expression in association with spontaneous variation in arousal state (b) gene expression associated with SD (c) gene expression associated with RS after SD and (d) gene expression associated with drug-induced sleep. In this section, we will primarily focus on approaches in which specific candidate genes have been studied in association with SD and RS. 

The expression of the immediate early gene (IEG) c-fos has been extensively used as a functional marker of brain activity in neuroscience including sleep research (53-55). In most cell types, the basal level of c-fos expression is relatively low however, c-fos messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) and Fos protein can be rapidly and transiently induced by a diverse range of extracellular stimuli. Several laboratories have found that both c-Fos protein and mRNA levels decrease in the cerebral cortex during sleep relative to wakefulness (56-59). This decline has been linked to a reduction in the firing rate of the locus ceruleus during sleep and the consequent reduction of norepinephrine release in the cortex (60). 

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