Sleep and Cognition Group

Our lab focuses on the role of sleep in memory, mood, emotion and neurodegenerative disease.

Current work investigates the neurobiology of the neuropeptide orexin on sleep, in particular the influences of orexin receptor antagonists on sleep quality and subsequent performance in tests of memory and emotion in animal models. This work expands into investigations of the role of the orexin system in Alzheimer’s disease and Frontotemporal dementia, and explores the potential of orexin receptor antagonists to modulate disease progression in mouse models of these diseases.

About our research

Research interests

  • Sleep
  • Memory
  • Emotion
  • Alzheimer’s disease
  • Dementia

Techniques

  • EEG/EMG
  • Immunopanning
  • Transriptomic profiling

Research team

Research team head

Laura Jacobson

Associate Professor Laura Jacobson

Group Head

Team members

PhD students

  • Anne-Marie Peeters
  • Yasmin Potts
  • Jeremy Metha

 

 

Publications

  • Jacobson, L.H., Hoyer, D. and Lecea, L. (2022). Hypocretins (orexins): The ultimate translational neuropeptides. Journal of Internal Medicine, 291(5), pp.533–556. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/joim.13406.
  • Jacobson, L.H. and Hoyer, D. (2022). Losing sleep with age. Science, 375(6583), pp.816–817. doi:https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abo1822.
  • Hoyer, D., Allen, A. and Jacobson, L.H. (2020). Hypnotics with novel modes of action. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 86(2), pp.244–249. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/bcp.14180.

Contact us

Associate Professor Laura Jacobson

Group Head
[email protected]