Neuroscience-driven discovery and development of sleep therapeutics

Abstract

Until recently, neuroscience has given sleep research and discovery of better treatments of sleep disturbances little attention, despite the fact that disturbed sleep has overwhelming impact on human health. Sleep is a complex phenomenon in which specific psychological, electrophysiological, neurochemical, endocrinological, immunological and genetic factors are involved. The brain as both the generator and main object of sleep is obviously of particular interest, which makes a neuroscience-driven view the most promising approach to evaluate clinical implications and applications of sleep research. Polysomnography as the gold standard of sleep research, complemented by brain imaging, neuroendocrine testing, genomics and other laboratory measures can help to create composite biomarkers that allow maximizing the effects of individualized therapies while minimizing adverse effects. Here we review the current state of the neuroscience of sleep, sleep disorders and sleep therapeutics and will give some leads to promote the discovery and development of sleep medicines that are better than those we have today.

Keywords: ACTH; CRH; Depression; EEG; EMG; EOG; GH; HLA; HPA; Hypnotics; Insomnia; LC; NREM; Neuroscience; PD; PET; PTSD; Parkinson's disease; RBD; REM; REM behavior disorder; RLS; SARI; SNRI; SSRI; SWS; Sleep; VLPO; corticotropin; corticotropin-releasing hormone; electroencephalogram; electromyogram; electrooculogram; fMRI; functional magnetic resonance tomography; growth hormone; human leukocyte antigen; hypothalamic pituitary adrenocortical; locus coeruleus; non rapid eye movement; positron emission tomography; post-traumatic stress disorder; rapid eye movement; restless legs syndrome; selective noradrenalin reuptake inhibitor; selective serotonin and noradrenalin reuptake inhibitor; selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor; slow wave sleep; ventrolateral preoptic nucleus.