SAN DIEGO, CA — Research on animals is shedding light on the biological mechanisms that link sleep and anxiety. The findings were presented at Neuroscience 2022, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world’s largest source of emerging news about brain science and health.
Stress and anxiety are frequently connected to sleeping problems. Anxiety increases agitation and arousal, making it harder to sleep, and sleep deprivation can worsen anxiety. According to recent studies, about 41-56% of people experienced sleep disturbances during the COVID-19 pandemic, up from pre-pandemic rates of around 14-25%. Insufficient sleep is known to have numerous negative implications for health, including increasing the likelihood of mental distress. However, the specific circuits and cells involved in mediating stress, anxiety, and sleep are just beginning to be elucidated.
Today’s new findings show that:
“The neuroscience research presented today illustrates the biological diversity of mechanisms involved in both sleep and stress responses,” says Sara Aton, associate professor of molecular, cellular, and developmental biology at the University of Michigan, who studies neural plasticity, sleep, and memory formation in the rodent brain. “These studies highlight that sleep is an essential component of regulating responses to acute and chronic stressors, and the findings could have implications for developing new therapies for anxiety.”
This research was supported by national funding agencies including the National Institutes of Health and private funding organizations. Find out more about social behavior and the brain on BrainFacts.org.
Press Conference Summary
- Sleep and anxiety are closely connected. Inadequate sleep can cause irritability and stress, while anxiety itself may lead to poor sleep.
- Diverse neuronal and non-neuronal mechanisms may underlie the associations between sleep and anxiety.
GABAergic Neurons in Ventral Midbrain/pons are Involved in Mania-Like Behaviors With Altered Sleep Homeostasis and Sleep Architecture
Takato Honda, takatoh@mit.edu, abstract 395.12
Gut Microbiota Regulates Rhythmic HPA-Axis Function and Induces Circadian Effects on the Stress Response
Gabriel S. S. Tofani, gabriel.tofani@ucc.ie, abstract 479.15
Involvement of Microglia in Sleep/Wake Regulation in Baseline Conditions and Under Acute Social Defeat Stress in Mice
Kazuya Miyanishi, miyanishi.kazuya.xp@alumni.tsukuba.ac.jp, abstract 554.15
The Activity of the Paraventricular Thalamic Nucleus’ Calretinin Expressing Neurons After Acute Stress Underlies Long Term Behavioral Changes
Laszlo Acsady, acsady@koki.hu, abstract 062.30