Our research

Sleep and cognition

Sleep and the cognitive decline associated with sleep loss differ between individuals.

We discovered that a primate-specific polymorphism in the circadian clock gene PERIOD3 predicts:

• Sleep characteristics
• Cognitive decline due to sleep loss.

This provides a unique opportunity to:

• better understand the mechanisms
• underlying individual differences
• by which this clock gene influences sleep and cognition
• Identify novel biomarkers
• Develop novel countermeasures for cognitive decline associated with sleep loss and circadian misalignment

Approach

Data collection: human

• Genotype ~ 1,500 people for the PER3 polymorphism
• Stratify study population (n=72) according to PER3 genotype
• Perturb sleep and circadian rhythmicity
  • Forced desynchrony protocol
  • Sleep restriction/extension followed by ‘extended nightshift’
• Assess cognition and sleep physiology
• Obtain samples for the analysis of
  • Endocrine markers of circadian rhythmicity
  • Cell culture studies of circadian rhythms in vitro
  • PERIOD3 protein rhythms
  • Genome wide gene expression profiling by microarray

Data analysis

• Merge data:
• Sleep physiology
  • Circadian physiology
  • Cognition
  • Gene expression profiling.
• Bioinformatics and modelling approaches
• Identify metabolic and signalling pathways related to
  • PER3 genotype related differences
  • Other individual differences.