Cognitive Sciences and Psychology
Title : | Elucidating the genetic architecture of inherited somniloquy |
Area of research : | Cognitive Sciences and Psychology |
Focus area : | Neuroscience, Genetics |
Principal Investigator : | Dr. Nishanth J H, Government Medical College, Kozhikode, Kerala |
Timeline Start Year : | 2024 |
Timeline End Year : | 2027 |
Contact info : | nishanthjh@gmail.com |
Details
Executive Summary : | Sleep is a crucial restorative state characterized by reversible detachment from the environment, immobility, postural recumbence, and behavioral quiescence. It is a tightly regulated complex physiological process involving brain regions and neural circuits. Sleep disorders, such as somniloquy or sleep talking, offer a unique opportunity to study these regulatory processes. Somniloquy is a prevalent parasomnia where motor inhibition during sleep is depressed, providing insights into the neurobiological basis of sleep regulation and cognitive functions. The pathogenesis of somniloquy is elusive, but evidence suggests a strong genetic predisposition and runs in families. Family-based genetic studies could help discover genes for sleep talking phenotype. A three-generation multiplex family with four individuals manifesting somniloquy with a dominant inheritance pattern could be useful for delineating genes relevant for sleep talking. The proposal aims to elucidate the genetic architecture of sleep talking/somniloquy by performing whole exome sequencing of individuals with inherited somniloquy and replicating the observation by sequencing the identified gene/genes for variants in sporadic cases of somniloquy. |
Co-PI: | Dr. Rajith K Ravindren, Institute Of Mental Health And Neuro Sciences, Kerala-673008, Dr. Shabeesh Balan, Institute Of Mental Health And Neuro Sciences, Kerala-673008 |
Total Budget (INR): | 29,99,920 |
Organizations involved