University of Basel researchers identify neurons regulating sleep pressure

Researchers at the University of Basel, in collaboration with the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Auburn University, have identified specific neuron populations in mice that regulate sleep pressure. The study, published in the journal ‘Nature’, explains how the brain tracks the duration of wakefulness to determine the need for sleep.

By comparing brain activity during normal sleep-wake cycles, sleep deprivation, and recovery sleep, the team mapped a neural circuit in the brainstem. They discovered that two distinct types of neurons—GABAergic and serotonergic—increase in activity as wakefulness extends and decrease once sleep begins. This mechanism ensures that longer periods of wakefulness are followed by deeper and longer periods of restorative sleep.