Summa Keith C, Turek Fred W
Center for Sleep and Circadian Biology, Northwestern University.
Sleep Med Clin. 2011 Jun 1;6(2):141-154. doi: 10.1016/j.jsmc.2011.04.004.
Sleep is a fundamental behavior in higher animals that has been firmly established to be under substantial genetic control. However, the identification of individual genes responsible for primary sleep-wake traits has largely eluded researchers. Genetic studies in animal models have uncovered a variety of genomic loci associated with specific traits, validated the role of key neurotransmitter systems (i.e., monoamines) in sleep-wake regulation, identified novel and unexpected genes responsible for controlling sleep-wake traits, and demonstrated substantial genetic overlap in the regulation of sleep and circadian rhythms. Future studies are expected to reveal additional genes and gene networks underlying certain sleep-wake traits, thereby advancing our understanding of the molecular basis of sleep, which may suggest answers to the ultimate question of why we sleep as well as provide unique insight into the relationship between sleep and chronic diseases.
睡眠是高等动物的一种基本行为，现已确定其受到大量基因的严格控制。然而，负责主要睡眠-觉醒特征的单个基因的识别在很大程度上仍未被研究人员发现。动物模型的基因研究已经发现了与特定特征相关的各种基因组位点，验证了关键神经递质系统（即单胺）在睡眠-觉醒调节中的作用，确定了负责控制睡眠-觉醒特征的新的和意想不到的基因，并证明了睡眠调节和昼夜节律之间存在大量基因重叠。未来的研究有望揭示某些睡眠-觉醒特征背后的更多基因和基因网络，从而加深我们对睡眠分子基础的理解，这可能为我们为什么睡眠这个终极问题提供答案，并为睡眠与慢性病之间的关系提供独特的见解。
