N-acetylserotonin, the immediate precursor to melatonin, activates the same growth circuits in the brain as BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor). The results have implications for how some antidepressants function and suggest that the molecules and pathways involved in mood regulation and circadian rhythms are intertwined.
A new national study suggests that preschool-aged children are likely to have a lower risk for obesity if they regularly engage in one or more of three specific household routines: eating dinner as a family, getting adequate sleep and limiting their weekday television viewing time. The study showed that 4-year-olds living in homes with all three routines had an almost 40 percent lower prevalence of obesity than did children living in homes that practiced none of these routines.
Sleeping is known to help humans stabilize information and tasks learned during the preceding day. Now, researchers have found that sleep has similar effects upon learning in starlings, a discovery that will open up future research into how the brain learns and preserves information. The research fills an important gap between human behavioral findings and animal experiments of how the brain changes after learning and sleep.
Obstructive sleep apnea adversely affects glucose control in patients with type 2 diabetes, according to a new study.
A robust new technique for screening drugs’ effects on zebrafish behavior is pointing scientists toward unexpected compounds and pathways that may govern sleep and wakefulness in humans. Among their more intriguing findings: Various anti-inflammatory agents in the immune system, long known to induce sleep during infection, may also shape normal sleep/wake cycles.
Cognitive fluctuations, or episodes when train of thought temporarily is lost, are more likely to occur in older persons who are developing Alzheimer’s disease than in their healthy peers, according to scientists. Cognitive fluctuations include excessive daytime sleepiness, staring into space and disorganized or illogical thinking.
Chronic and severely stressful situations, like those connected to depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, have been associated with smaller volumes in “stress sensitive” brain regions, such as the cingulate region of the cerebral cortex and the hippocampus, a brain region involved in memory formation.
The brains of people under anesthesia respond to stimuli as they do in the deepest part of sleep — lending credence to a developing theory of consciousness and suggesting a new method to assess loss of consciousness in conditions such as coma.
A new study suggests that healthy older adults without sleep disorders can expect to have a reduced “sleep need” and to be less sleepy during the day than healthy young adults.
In a study of 36 newly diagnosed men with severe obstructive sleep apnea and 31 healthy controls, significant gray matter concentration deficits were found in multiple brain areas of men with OSA, including limbic structures, prefrontal cortices and the cerebellum. These changes in brain structure may be related to problems such as memory impairment and executive dysfunction that are observed in OSA patients.
The brains of infants who die of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) produce low levels of serotonin, a brain chemical that conveys messages between cells and plays a vital role in regulating breathing, heart rate, and sleep, researchers report.
A new study shows that erectile dysfunction was more common in older men with restless leg syndrome (RLS) than in those without RLS, and the magnitude of this association increased with a higher frequency of RLS symptoms.
New research finds that adolescents with bedtimes that were set earlier by parents were significantly less likely to suffer from depression and to think about committing suicide, suggesting that earlier bedtimes could have a protective effect by lengthening sleep duration and increasing the likelihood of getting enough sleep.
At the request of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce as part of an investigation into preventable medical errors, the Institute of Medicine has issued a report recommending further restrictions regarding duty hours for resident physicians and other actions to reduce resident fatigue and ensure patient safety.
One of the pioneers in research on sleep-wake circadian genes has discovered that fruit flies’ appetite and consumption are controlled by two rival sets of clocks, one in neurons and the other in the fly fat body, which is analogous to the liver.
Researchers have discovered a technique that is able to determine whether a child has obstructive sleep apnea or habitual snoring by screening their urine.
Significant associations exist between parent-reported insomnia symptoms and medical complaints of gastrointestinal regurgitation and headaches in young school-aged children, a new study shows.
Researchers have discovered the enzyme behind effects of sleep deprivation. There is hope for those who miss one night too many or whose children keep them up at night. The unwelcome effects of a bad night’s sleep – forgetfulness, impaired mental performance – can be dealt with by reducing the concentration of an enzyme in the brain.
A widely used test for measuring nighttime blood pressure may interfere with patients’ sleep, thus affecting the results of the test, a new study reports.
A new study shows that being overweight or obese increases the risk for developing obstructive sleep apnea in adolescents but not in younger children.
Placing infants on their backs for sleep can help reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome. But a new study shows that while the practice helped reduce the incidence of SIDS, it has reached a plateau since guidelines were released by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
For obese men, a dramatic weight loss can be an effective way to improve moderate to severe sleep apnea, scientists. Those with severe sleep apnea when the study began benefited most from weight loss.
Repeated use of the drug popularly known as “ecstasy” significantly raises the risk of developing sleep apnea in otherwise healthy young adults with no other known risk factors for the sleep disturbance, a new study suggests. The finding is the latest highlighting the potential dangers of the amphetamine-style chemical, currently used illegally by millions of people in the United States.
Short, unpleasant, dreamlike mental activity occurs during sleepwalking and sleep terrors episodes, suggesting that people with these sleep disorders may be acting out dreamlike thoughts.
A new study suggests that changes in children’s sleep patterns that typically occur between the ages of 11 and 12 years are evident before the physical changes associated with the onset of puberty.
