Home Department: Symbolic Systems
Mentor: Luis deLecea (Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences)

"Impact of AKAP11 on Sleep Regulation in a Mouse Model of Bipolar Disorder"

Bipolar disorder (BD) is characterized by extreme mood fluctuations, causing significant impairments to daily life, and affects approximately 37 million individuals worldwide. Although multiple genes have been linked to BD, the biological mechanisms underlying their involvement in BD symptomology remains unknown. Jaemon will investigate the role of the AKAP11 gene - a known BD risk gene - by conducting AKAP11 gene knockdown in neurons previously implicated in mania-like sleep and behavior disruptions (dopaminergic neurons of the ventral tegmental area) and evaluating its effects on sleep and behavior in mice. The results will determine whether AKAP11 modulates BD-associated behaviors.