Background pattern of a brain with neural connections

Team Nelson

The Pedunculopontine Nucleus in Sleep and Cognitive Features of Parkinson’s Disease

2026-Present

In Parkinson’s Disease (PD), sleep disorders and cognitive impairment markedly reduce quality of life, and yet the causes of these symptoms are unclear. In this project, we will perform parallel behavioral, physiological, and pathological assays in people with PD and mouse models of PD to determine which brain regions, cell types, and patterns of activity drive sleep and cognitive symptoms. We will test the central hypothesis that the PD-associated protein alpha-synuclein alters the physiological function of the pedunculopontine nucleus to drive sleep and cognitive disorders in PD, with synergistic contributions of locus coeruleus norepinephrine and midbrain dopamine neurons.

Tags
Alpha-synucleinCognitive dysfunction/dementiaElectrophysiologyLocus coeruleusNon-motor symptomsPathologySleep disorders

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In the News

Decoding the Blueprint: Advancing Personalized Parkinson’s Treatments

Decoding the Blueprint: Advancing Personalized Parkinson’s Treatments

05/21/2026 — In our community, we often hear: “If you’ve met one person with Parkinson’s, you’ve met one person with Parkinson’s.” This isn’t just an adage — it’s a biological reality. This radical variability is exactly what makes the disease so difficult to outsmart. We’ve learned that a puzzle this fragmented cannot be solved with a single, broad stroke. Our goal isn’t to find one answer for everyone, but the right answer for the right person at the right time.

Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s and The Michael J. Fox Foundation Expand Global Research Initiative with $261M Investment Toward Personalized Treatments

Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s and The Michael J. Fox Foundation Expand Global Research Initiative with $261M Investment Toward Personalized Treatments

04/28/2026 — Today, Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP), in partnership with The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF), announced $261 million in new grant funding for the Collaborative Research Network (CRN) to map the biological blueprint of Parkinson’s disease and build a standardized toolkit of global research resources that are needed to turn discoveries into treatments.

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Members of the CRN work diligently to advance our understanding of Parkinson’s disease. Learn more about recent CRN discoveries and achievements.