Circadian clock genes are widely expressed in mammalian brain. Despite considerable knowledge about the role of these genes in the generation of circadian rhythms in the suprachiasmatic nucleus, the master circadian clock, insight into brain-region specific function of these genes limited. Studies in our laboratory investigate the role of core clock gene, Bmal1 and Per2 in the control of behaviors governed by the striatum, a forebrain structure critical in in motor control, reward processi...

In this talk, we will present our recent developments in the context of Personalized functional Near Infra-Red Spectroscopy (fNIRS) investigations, which consist in optimizing placement of fNIRS sources and detectors on the head of the participant in order to maximize fNIRS sensitivity to some targeted brain regions, while allowing accurate local 3D reconstructions of fluctuations of oxy-hemoglobin and deoxy-hemoglobin along the cortical surface. Personalized fNIRS investigations could be ...

Sleep is important for memory consolidation and cognitives performances during the day. There is increasing evidence that brain oscillations during sleep play a central role in such processes. This presentation will review recent work from our lab on the interplay between brain rhythms during sleep, memory consolidation and age-related cognitive decline. We will also discuss recent data showing the impact of sleep disturbances on cognitive functions, as well as the effects o...

This talk will discuss sleep of children as they transition to teens in the context of research that examines associations between brain systems that regulate sleep/wake behavior—the circadian timing system and the sleep homeostatic system. For example, adolescents’ circadian timing becomes later; their sleep “need” does not diminish; their sleep homeostatic system is also modified in a way that can modify sleep timing. A major implication of this work has been in the area of education, sp...