Identification of molecular markers for sleep ensembles in the zona incerta
Recovery sleep alleviates pain in humans, yet the underlying neural mechanisms remain elusive. We identified a population of sleep-activated neuronal ensembles within the zona incerta (ZI) that mediate both non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep and analgesia in mice. The ZI comprises multiple neuronal subtypes with distinct molecular identities and functional properties. To dissect the molecular mechanisms through which the ZI sleep ensemble regulates sleep and chronic pain, we performed function-dependent laser capture microdissection followed by RNA sequencing (fLCM-seq) on ZI sleep-ensemble neurons and neighboring unidentified neurons.