Peng Lab
Location and Contact Information
Sleep is a fundamental biological process ubiquitously conserved in the animal kingdom. Growing evidence emphasizes the importance of sleep to our mental and physical health. Yet, little is known about how the brain initiates, maintains, and terminates sleep states. The goal of our research is to understand the circuit and molecular mechanisms underlying sleep regulation in both normal and diseased brains. We use a multidisciplinary approach, including electrophysiology, calcium imaging, optogenetics, chemogenetics, pharmacology, viral-based neural tracing, molecular biology, and mouse genetics to study the neurobiology of sleep in mice.
In collaboration with other faculty members at the IGM and Columbia, we are also interested in understanding the relationship between sleep disruption and neurological diseases. Specifically, we focus on epilepsy and neurodegeneration. We aim to identify common neuropathological mechanisms underlying abnormal sleep and brain diseases.
For more information, visit The Peng Lab
Current projects
- Dissecting brain circuits controlling the transition between sleep and wakefulness
- Investigating sleep-dependent epigenomic modification in memory consolidation
- Exploring circuit abnormalities underlying nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy
- Understanding the relationship between sleep dysfunction and Huntington’s disease
Select Publications
Dugger SA, Dhindsa RS, Sampaio GDA, Ressler AK, Rafikian EE, Petri S, Letts VA, Teoh J, Ye J, Colombo S, Peng Y, Yang M, Boland MJ, Frankel WN, Goldstein DB. (2023) Neurodevelopmental deficits and cell-type-specific transcriptomic perturbations in a mouse model of HNRNPU haploinsufficiency. PLOS Genetics 19 (10):e1010952. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010952.
Colombo S, Reddy HP, Petri S, Williams DJ, Shalomov B, Dhindsa RS, Gelfman S, Krizay D, Bera AK, Yang M, Peng Y, Makinson C, Boland MJ, Frankel WN, Goldstein DB, Dascal N. (2023) Epilepsy in a mouse model of GNB1 Encephalopathy arises from altered potassium channel (GIRK) signaling and is alleviated by a GIRK inhibitor. Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience 17, doi: 10.3389/fncel.2023.1175895
Teng S, and Peng Y. (2023) Simultaneous microendoscopic calcium imaging and EEG recording of mouse brain during sleep. Bio-Protocol 13 (09): e4664. DOI: 10.21769/BioProtoc.4664.
Teng S*, Zhen F*, McRae BR, Zhu E, Frankel WN, Peng Y. (2022) Sensory regulation of absence seizures in a mouse model of Gnb1 encephalopathy. iScience 25 (11), 105488. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105488. PMCID: PMC9667301. * co-first author.
Teng S, Zhen F, Wang L, Schalchli JC, Simko J, Chen X, Jin H, Makinson CD, Peng Y. (2022) Control of Non-REM sleep by ventrolateral medulla glutamatergic neurons projecting to the preoptic area. Nature Communications 13, 4748. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-32461-3.
Shore AN, Colombo S, Tobin WF, Petri S, Cullen ER, Dominguez S, Bostick CD, Beaumont MA, Williams D, Khodagholy D, Yang M, Lutz CM, Peng Y, Gelinas JN, Goldstein DB, Boland MJ, Frankel WN, Weston MC (2020). Reduced GABAergic neuron excitability, altered synaptic connectivity, and seizures in a KCNT1 gain-of-function mouse model of childhood epilepsy. Cell Reports 33(4), 108303.
Wang L, Gillis-Smith S, Peng Y, Zhang J, Chen X, Salzman CD, Ryba NJ, Zuker CS. (2018). The coding of valence and identity in the mammalian taste system. Nature 558(7708), 127-131.
Yarmolinsky DA, Peng Y, Pogorzala LA, Rutlin M, Hoon MA, Zuker CS. (2016) Coding and plasticity in the mammalian thermosensory system. Neuron 92(5), 1079-92.
Peng Y, Gillis-Smith S, Jin H, Tränkner D, Ryba NJ, Zuker CS. (2015). Sweet and bitter taste in the brain of awake behaving animals. Nature 527(7579), 512-5.
Chen X, Gabitto M, Peng Y, Ryba NJ, Zuker CS. (2011). A gustotopic map of taste qualities in the mammalian brain. Science, 333(6047), 1262-6.