Orexin and Sleep Molecular, Functional and Clinical Aspects

This volume is intended for neuropharmacologists, psychopharmacologists, pharmacologists, pharmacists, sleep researchers, translational neuroscience researchers, and other basic researchers and clinical scientists interested in an interdisciplinary approach to sleep medicine. The level of the book is aiming at CNS researchers, drug development scientists, basic and clinical sleep researchers, as well as senior medical students and fellows in psychiatry and neurology. Orexin and Sleep provides a unique resource, giving a comprehensive and highly readable summary of the basic concepts in orexin biology and pharmacology along with clinical applications in sleep medicine in general, and narcolepsy in particular.

History of Orexin Research.- The Hypocretin Story.- Input and output systems of orexin neurons.- Physiological roles of orexin receptors on sleep/wakefulness regulation.- Orexin receptor functions in the ascending arousal system (Folder name - Leonard).- Elucidation of neuronal circuitry involved in the regulation of sleep/wakefulness using optogenetics (Folder name - Yamanaka).- Modulation of thalamocortical pathways by orexins.- Orexins, Alcohol and Sleep Homeostasis.- Orexin induced modulation of REM sleep and its loss associated patho-physiological changes are mediated through locus coeruleus.- Role of orexin on sleep: interactions with other neurotransmitter systems.

Takeshi Sakurai, MD, PhD

Takeshi Sakurai is a professor in the Department of Molecular Neuroscience and Integrative Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kanazawa University (Japan). He obtained his M.D. and Ph.D. from the University of Tsukuba and received his postdoctoral training at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, USA. The goal of his work is to identify novel neuropeptides and define their physiological roles. He is especially interested in neuropeptides involved in homeostatic processes and innate behaviors such as feeding, autonomic function, emotion, and sleep and wakefulness states. In recent years, he has focused on identifying the input and output systems of orexin neurons to reveal the neuronal network that plays an important role in regulating  sleep and wakefulness states.

S.R. Pandi-Perumal, MSc.,

Pandi-Perumal is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Somnogen Canada Inc, a Canadian Corporation. He is a well-recognized sleep researcher both nationally and internationally, and has authored many publications. His general area of research interest includes sleep and biological rhythms. He is a well-known editor in the field of sleep medicine and has edited over 20 volumes dealing with various sleep-related topics. He had an honorable mention in the New York Times in 2004. India International Friendship Society awarded 'Bharat Gaurav award' on January 12, 2013.

Jaime M. Monti, MD

Jaime M. Monti has obtained his MD from Uruguay and subsequently he had his early career trainings at Stanford University and National Institutes of Mental Health. He is a member of the International College of Neuropsychopharmacology, the Sleep Research Society (USA), the European Sleep Research Society, and the Argentinian Society of Sleep Medicine. Contributed