In a new study published in the journal Nature, researches have identified two genes that control deep sleep and dreaming, opening the door to new treatments for sleep disorders. The discovery of a gene that regulates the amount of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep in mammals, as well as a gene that controls the amount of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, REM is a recurring sleep stage that makes up around 25% of a typical night's sleep. REM is described as a period of sleep involving intense brain activity that is comparable to waking-state brain activity.

Both REM and NREM are considered important for health and well-being because it aids in tissue growth and repair and ensuring the brain and body are able to function effectively during the day.

For their study, co-author Joseph S. Takahashi, of the O'Donnell Brain Institute at the University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, and colleagues introduced random mutations to the genes of more than 8,000 mice. The researchers identified two genes - Salt-Inducible Kinase 3 Sik3 (Sik3) and Sodium Leak Channel Non-selective (Nalcn) - that appear to play a role in REM and NREM sleep.

Mice that had a mutation in the Sik3 gene - referred to as "Sleepy" mice - were found to have 50 percent more NREM sleep than mice without this mutation, the team reports.

"We noticed that Sleepy mutants showed an exaggerated response to sleep deprivation," notes first author Hiromasa Funato, of the University of Tsukuba in Japan. "Examining the brains of sleep-deprived mice revealed changes in the phosphorylation of amino acids within the SIK3 protein. These changes were disturbed by the Sik3 mutation in Sleepy mice, which is why they have an increased sleep need."

"The Dreamless mutation causes increased ion conductance through the channel and increased activity of REM-terminating neurons, which is compatible with REM sleep instability," explains co-author Chika Miyoshi, also of the University of Tsukuba.

"At least in theory, this study opens up future possibilities to create new sleep-regulating drugs, but doing so will occur in the distant future," notes senior author Dr. Masashi Yanagisawa, professor of molecular genetics at UT Southwestern.

"We hope that the discovery of these key genes is just the beginning of our long journey into the blackbox of sleep regulation. It is amazing that we know almost nothing about the simple question of what is 'sleepiness' physically in our brain. We will start from these genes and try to solve the great mystery." Dr. Masashi Yanagisawa

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