Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is the stage of sleep during which dreaming occurs and the body is paralyzed. Control of this paralysis relies on an area of the brain stem called the subcoeruleus (SubC). When the SubC stops functioning, paralysis is lost and dreams are violently acted out, a condition known as REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD). The brain pathology of RBD is poorly understood, however greater insight into this disease is crucial. The vast majority of RBD patients (>80%) eventually develop synucleinopathies, which are a type of neurodegenerative disease defined by toxic buildup of a protein called alpha-synuclein, the most prominent of which is Parkinson's disease. Adeno-associated virus (AAV) can be used to increase the amount of a desired protein in cells. Using AAV2-alpha-synuclein, we are the first to show that alpha-synuclein expression can be driven in the SubC, which demonstrates a possible mechanism for the development of RBD. This provides a link between RBD and synucleinopathic neurodegenerative diseases, and is a vital tool for future research to better understand the development of both. By focusing on the brain stem region controlling paralysis during REM sleep, an area which appears to be affected early in the development of neurodegenerative diseases, our findings also provide an animal model for investigation into possible preventative treatments for Parkinson's disease and related disorders.