Danny Lasky

Research Description

I work alongside Dr. Nigel Pedersen and Dr. Chirstelle Anaclet to explore the interactions between sleep and epilepsy. Sleep disturbances are a well-established comorbidity of epilepsy, and poor sleep quality is known to worsen seizure control and contribute to cognitive comorbidities. This produces a cycle of violence whereby seizures reduce sleep quality and further worsen seizure control. My research seeks to make use of this cycle by restoring sleep as a treatment for epilepsy. I am using the first-ever rodent model of sleep enhancement developed by Dr. Anaclet, which uses chemogenetics to activate a sleep-promoting region in the brainstem. I am performing this sleep enhancement in epileptic mice, which I anticipate will reduce epileptiform activity and ameliorate cognitive deficits. This research is unprecedented as, to date, no study has directly manipulated sleep circuits as a treatment for epilepsy or its comorbidities. I am greatly excited to be conducting this work and hope it will ultimately contribute to alleviating the global burden of drug-resistant epilepsy.