In a study that could offer a glimpse into sleep's still poorly understood functions, researchers have identified genes upregulated specifically during sleep.1 The findings contain surprises, investigators say. One is simply that there are many such genes, at least as many as are turned on while awake, belying the common-sense view that sleep implies inactivity. Another is that the sleep-related changes in gene expression extend to the cerebellum, a structure not previously known to participate in sleep.
Perhaps most tantalizing, the team found that "sleep genes" largely fall into categories that could serve to test and refine hypotheses of sleep's functions. Four notable divisions include: genes involved in synaptic plasticity, which may bolster recent findings that sleep aids memory consolidation; genes underlying translation, supporting observations that protein synthesis increases during slumber; genes regulating membrane and vesicle trafficking; and genes for synthesizing cholesterol, which may be crucial for synaptogenesis.
"This is ...
