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Can a Lack of Sleep Cause Psychiatric Disorders?

Study shows that sleep deprivation leads to a rewiring of the brain's emotional circuitry
By Nikhil Swaminathan on October 23, 2007

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ISTOCKPHOTO/KAREN WINTON

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There'snoquestionthatpeopleneedtheirsleep:studieshavelinkedalackof
shuteyetoeverythingfromdisruptionsintheimmunesystemtocognitive
deficitstoweightcontrol.
Infact,psychologistMatthewWalkeroftheUniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley,
saysthat"almostallpsychiatricdisordersshowsomeproblemswithsleep.''
But,hesaysthatscientistspreviouslybelievedthepsychiatricproblems
triggeredthesleepissues.Newresearchfromhislab,however,suggeststhe
reverseisthecasethatis,alackofshuteyeiscausingsomepsychological
disturbances.

Walker'steamandcollaboratorsfromHarvardMedicalSchoolreachedtheir
conclusions,publishedinCurrentBiology,afterstudying26healthystudents
aged24to31aftereitheranallnighterorafullnight'ssleep.

Fourteensubjectsspent35straighthourswithoutgettingawinkbeforebeing
rolledintoafunctionalmagneticresonanceimaging(fMRI)scannerswhere
theirbrainswereobservedwhiletheyviewedasetof100photosthatbecame
increasinglydisturbingastheyprogressed.Earlyslidesweresnapshotsofan
emptywickerbasketonatablethesceneschangedastheseriesprogressed,
however,tomoreshockingsettings,suchasatarantulaonaperson'sshoulder
andfinallypicturesofburnvictimsandothertraumaticportraits.

Theresearchersmainlymonitoredtheamygdala,amidbrainstructurethat
decodesemotion,andobservedthatbothsetsofvolunteershadasimilar
baselineofactivitywhenshowntheinnocuousimages.But,whenthescenes

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becamemoregruesome,theamygdalaeofthesleepdeprivedparticipants
kickedup,showing60percentmoreactivityrelativetothenormalpopulation's
response.Inaddition,theresearchersnoticedthatmorethanfivetimesmore
neuronsintheareaweretransmittingimpulsesinthesleepdeprivedbrains.

Walkerdescribedtheheightenedemotionalresponseinthewearyas
"profound,"noting,"We'veneverseenamagnitudeofincreasebetweentwo
groupsthatbiginanyofourstudiesbefore."

TheteamalsocheckedthefMRIreadingstodeterminewhetheranyotherbrain
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regionshadasimilarpatternofactivity,whichwouldindicatethatthebrain

networkswerecommunicatingwithoneanother.Innormalparticipants,the
amygdalaseemedtobetalkingtothemedialprefrontalcortex,anouterlayerof
thebrainthat,Walkersays,helpstocontextualizeexperiencesandemotions.
But,inthesleepdeprivedbrain,theamygdalaseemedtobe"rewired,"coupling
insteadwithabrainstemareacalledthelocuscoeruleus,whichsecretes
norepinephrine,aprecursorofthehormoneadrenalinethattriggersfightor
flighttypereactions.

"Medialprefrontalcortexisthepolicemanoftheemotionalbrain,"Walkersays.
"Itmakesusmorerational.Thattopdown,inhibitoryconnectionisseveredin
theconditionofsleepdeprivation.Theamygdalaseemstobeabletorun
amok."Peopleinthisstateseemtoexperienceapendulumofemotions,going
fromupsetandannoyedtogiddyinmoments,hesays.

"Thereseemstobeacausalrelationshipbetweenimpairedsleepandsomeof
thepsychiatricsymptomatologyanddisordersthatwe'reseeing,"saysRobert
Stickgold,anassociateprofessorofpsychiatryatHarvardMedicalSchoolwho
wasnotinvolvedinthisstudy.Hecitesresearchlinkingsleepapnea,inwhich
breathingisdisrupted,toattentiondeficithyperactivitydisorderandthe
evidenceofaconnectionbetweendepressionandinsomniaasexamples."It
mightbethatthosemedialfrontalregionstelltherestofthebrain,'Youcan

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chill,'"hesays."Thosecircuitsbecomeexhaustedoralteredafteralackof
sleep."

Walkersaystheteamnowplanstoexaminetheeffectsofdisruptionofcertain
typesofsleep,suchasREMsleeporslowwavesleep."Ithinkwemaystartto
thinkaboutanewpotentialfunctionforsleep,"saysWalker."Itdoesactually
prepareouremotionalbrainsfornextdaysocialandemotionalinteractions."
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)

NikhilSwaminathan

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