We study neuroscience at the intersections of:

sleep, metabolism, stress, and sedation

Norris research illustration

Examples of questions that drive our science: 

  • How does the brain link energy expenditure, body temperature regulation, and sleep?
  • How does stress lead to disruptions in sleep?
  • What neural pathways link sleep disturbances to metabolic changes?
  • How are the circuits regulating sleep involved in generating aspects of anesthetic states?
  • How does sleep disruptions impact our ability to cope with stressors?
  • How does the brain link energy expenditure, body temperature regulation, and sleep?

Current Projects:

  • Preoptic hypothalamic circuits that regulate metabolism
  • Supramammilary nucleus in stress and arousal
  • Torpor induction for neural protection after ischemic stroke

Techniques:

  • Fiber Photometry
  • Optogenetics
  • Chemogenetics
  • Behavior
  • Microscopy
  • EEG
  • Indirect calorimetry
  • Thermal imaging
  • Viral tools
  • Fiber photometry