The Einsteinium Foundation [EMC2], a philanthropic cryptocurrency organization recently awarded Dr. Robbert Havekes, PhD a grant of one million EMC2 (a cryptocurrency similar to Bitcoin) for his scientific research involving the cognitive impact of sleep deprivation on memory.
EMC2 is a non-profit cryptocurrency community who find and fund science research, education, and development projects they feel are worthy of their prize. EMC2 along with a throng of supporters started a crowd funding campaign at Indiegogo to further recognize and celebrate the work of Dr. Havekes.
We all know the wonders of a good night’s sleep, but did you know that just brief periods of sleep deprivation can lead to deficits in memory formation? Dr. Robbert Havekes, PhD is a research scientist associated with the University of Pennsylvania, his research examines the matter of how sleep loss causes cognitive problems and how to prevent the problems.
Sleep enables your body to repair and recharge itself, while your brain reorganizes filed memories Without adequate sleep, your brain becomes foggy, and your memory files begin to fragment.
In a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience a team led by scientists from the University of Pennsylvania found that a particular set of cells in a small region of the brain are responsible for memory problems after sleep loss. By selectively increasing levels of a signaling molecule in these cells, the researchers successfully prevented memory deficits in mice; Dr. Havekes was the lead author in the study.
Dr. Havekes is a research associate in the lab of Ted Abel, Ted Abel is the study’s senior author and Professor of Biology in Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences. In 2009, the Abel lab published a study in Nature that identified sleep-loss-associated memory problems.
Recently, Havekes and colleagues devised a way via “pharmacogenetic” a blending of genetic modification and drug administration to manipulate the cAMP pathways in the brain that previously were affected by sleep deprivation.
“What we’ve shown is this memory loss due to sleep deprivation is really dependent on misregulation of cAMP signaling in the excitatory neurons of the hippocampus,” Havekes said.
“At least in the mouse using these sophisticated tools, we’re able to reverse the negative impact of sleep deprivation on cognition,” Abel said.
While this study focused on the impact of a brief period of sleep deprivation, Havekes is curious to know how not getting enough sleep on a daily basis,more similar to human experiences, might be affecting memory. “Thinking about people who do shift work or doctors who work long hours, if we can tackle the cognitive problems that result from sleep loss, that would be a great thing,” Havekes said.
See full details here: www.neuroscientistnews.com
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