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Insomniac fish shed light on the molecular basis of sleep disorders
October 16, 2007Sleep disorders are common and poorly understood. In humans, narcolepsy is a sleep disorder associated with sleepiness, abnormal dreaming, paralysis and insomnia. Neuropeptides called hypocretins are implicated in this disorder. A new study by Yokogawa and colleagues at Stanford University now reveals that fish, like mammals, sleep, and their hypocretin receptor plays an important role. Their work is published online this week in the open-access journal PLoS Biology.
The authors first generated a mutant fish in which the hypocretin system was disrupted. Intriguingly, this first fish sleep mutant did not display sleepiness or paralysis but showed a 30% reduction of its sleep time at night and a 60% decrease in sleep bout length compared with non-mutant fish. They also studied the relationships between the hypocretin system and other sleep regulatory brain systems in zebrafish and found differences in expression patterns in the brain that may explain the differences in behavioral effects. Their study illustrates how a sleep regulatory system may have evolved across vertebrate phylogeny. Zebrafish, a powerful genetic model that has the advantage of transparency to study neuronal networks in vivo, can be used to study sleep.
Public Library of Science
Sleep Disorder Current Events and Sleep Disorder News RSSEye conditions linked with obstructive sleep apnea
If a good night's sleep helps the brain and body perform better, it's a good guess that sleep problems can cause more than just fatigue. Numerous studies have shown a connection between sleep disorders and medical conditions such as cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, and metabolic disorders, including the risk of obesity and diabetes mellitus. In the November issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, Mayo Clinic researchers outline several interesting associations between sleep disorders and eye disease.
Study links primary insomnia to a neurochemical abnormality in young and middle-aged adults
A study in the Nov. 1 issue of the journal Sleep is the first demonstration of a specific neurochemical abnormality in adults with primary insomnia, providing greater insight to the limited understanding of the condition's pathology.
What a Sleep Study Can Reveal About Fibromyalgia
Research engineers and sleep medicine specialists from two Michigan universities have joined technical and clinical hands to put innovative quantitative analysis, signal-processing technology and computer algorithms to work in the sleep lab.
Poor sleep linked to suicidal behavior among children and adolescents with depressive episodes
A research abstract that will be presented on Thursday at SLEEP 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS), finds a link between poor sleep and suicidal behavior among children and adolescents with depressive episodes.
Delaying school start time by one hour positively affects adolescents' cognitive performance
Delaying an adolescent's school start time by one hour has a positive effect on his or her cognitive performance.
REM sleep associated with overweight in children and adolescents
Short sleep time is associated with overweight in children and adolescents, a core aspect of which may be attributed to reduced REM sleep, according to a research abstract that will be presented on Thursday at SLEEP 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).
Insomnia in parents can result in sleep problems, suicidal behavior among their offspring
A history of chronic insomnia in parents is not only associated with elevated risk for insomnia but also with elevated risks for use of hypnotics, psychopathology and suicidal behavior in adolescent offspring, according to a research abstract that will be presented on Thursday at SLEEP 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).
Memory loss linked to common sleep disorder
For the first time, UCLA researchers have discovered that people with sleep apnea show tissue loss in brain regions that help store memory.
A self-help program delivered online can improve insomnia in adults
A cognitive behavioral intervention for insomnia delivered via the Internet can significantly improve insomnia in adults, according to a research abstract that will be presented on Wednesday at SLEEP 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).
Young children in mostly Caucasian countries obtain more sleep than those in Asian countries
Young children in predominantly Caucasian countries obtain more overall sleep, have earlier bedtimes, and are less likely to room-share than young children in predominantly Asian countries.
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