The amount and depth of sleep are controlled by different parts of the brain First revealed University of Tsukuba, etc.

Sleep is essential for good health.

A research group at the University of Tsukuba announced that it was the first in the world to reveal that the amount and depth are controlled by different parts of the brain.

The research group says that the results will lead to the development of treatments for sleep disorders.

The research results were published in the scientific journal "Nature" by a research group including Masashi Yanagisawa, Director of the International Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine, University of Tsukuba, and Professor Hiromasa Funato, Graduate School of Medicine, Toho University.

Six years ago, the research group discovered that a protein called "SIK3" is involved in sleep, and has been working to elucidate the detailed mechanism using mice.

As a result, in addition to SIK3, proteins called ``LKB1'' and ``HDAC4'' are involved, and it was found that sleep is promoted when ``HDAC4'' binds to a substance called phosphate in these chain reactions. is.

This chain reaction occurs in the nerve cells of the brain, but it was also discovered for the first time that the amount of sleep is related to the hypothalamus, and the depth of sleep is related to the cerebral cortex.

The research group hopes to advance further research and lead to the development of treatments for sleep disorders.

Director Yanagisawa says, "It may be said that it's natural to get sleepy if you don't sleep, but the mechanism is completely unknown. I think it's the first step towards that."