Molecular genetic advances in sleep research and their relevance to sleep medicine

Neurobiology has been profoundly impacted by the availability of molecular genetic techniques within the past decade, and the sleep research field is no exception to this trend. Genetic influences on normal and pathologic sleep have long been recognized, but only recently have the contributions of discrete genetic loci to the regulation of sleep timing and sleep-related physiologic phenomena begun to be demonstrated, particularly through the use of genetically engineered strains of rodents. The ability to monitor the expression of a large number of genes has also accelerated in recent years, leading to a better understanding of the molecular and neurochemical correlates of sleep and of sleep loss. This article reviews the contributions of molecular genetic studies to our understanding of the processes that underlie sleep and its pathologies, discusses their relevance to the treatment of sleep disorders, and offers some speculation on how the sleep field might further be advanced through molecular genetic analysis.