The protein NOTCH which is important in early development also has important functions in the adult brain. A study using flies found that when NOTCH was increased the sleep-deprived flies then behaved as if they had a full nights sleep. The study also observed interactions in sleep and to develop treatments that would help the brain resist the mental impairments imposed by sleep deprivation.
Paul Shaw who leads the study became interested in the matter when his group observed that sleep deprived flies caused an increase in activity in a gene that suppresses NOTCH. The found this also similar in humans. The also also went on to show that when the suppressor is genetically disabled, which allows increased NOTCH activity, the sleep deprived flies continue to learn.
At first when I started reading this I really didn't understand why they would want to learn on ways to make people stay awake when sleep deprived. But further in the article it was explained that they wanted to do this for people who had jobs such as emergency personnel or military where sleep deprivation is common. I think it would be extremely helpful for people in those types of jobs. But it also seems a little dangerous to find ways to keep people awake for even longer.
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