(Press-News.org) A team of scientists led by Dr. Antoine Adamantidis, a researcher at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute and an assistant professor at McGill University, has released the findings from their latest study, which will appear in the October issue of the prestigious scientific journal Nature Neuroscience.(1)
Previous studies had established an association between the activity of certain types of neurons and the phase of sleep known as REM (rapid eye movement). Researchers on the team of Dr. Antoine Adamantidis identified, for the first time, a precise causal link between neuronal activity in the lateral hypothalamus (LH) and the state of REM sleep. Using optogenetics, they were able to induce REM sleep in mice and modulate the duration of this sleep phase by activating the neuronal network in this area of the brain.
This achievement is an important contribution to the understanding of sleep mechanisms in the brains of mammals, as well as the underlying neuronal network, which is still not well understood despite recent breakthroughs in neuroscience.
Better understanding how sleep is modulated to reduce sleep disorders
"These research findings could help us better grasp how the brain controls sleep and better understand the role of sleep in humans. These results could also lead to new therapeutic strategies to treat sleep disorders along with associated neuropsychiatric problems," stated Dr. Antoine Adamantidis, who is also the Canada Research Chair in Neural Circuits and Optogenetics.
What is REM (rapid eye movement) sleep?
There are two types of sleep: REM and non-REM sleep. In humans, non-REM sleep has four stages. REM sleep, or deep sleep, is generally associated with dreaming and is a phase when the brain is very active, even though people are in a heavy sleep, their eyes move rapidly (hence the name), and their bodies have an almost total loss of muscle tonus (2).
Although our understanding of the mechanisms that control the wake and sleep cycle has progressed in recent years, many frontiers remain unexplored. However, we do know that a disruption in sleep can lead to adverse effects on physical and mental health in humans.
Optogenetics, a revolutionary technology
In 2010 in the journal Nature, optogenetics was recognized as one of the coming decade's most promising techniques to better understand brain function. This new field of research and application integrates optics and genetics methodologies to modulate the activity of neural circuits. Optogenetics involves controlling neuronal activity with light. This technique is therefore used to manipulate a specific type of cell without affecting neighbouring cells. A researcher who uses optogenetics is therefore like a conductor who decides to change the sheet music for an instrument to observe the effects, however insignificant they may seem, on the orchestra's entire performance.
INFORMATION:
Douglas Institute researchers identify the neural circuits that modulate REM sleep
A world first
2013-10-02
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Rice U study: Technology, not uninsured patients, driving hospital costs
2013-10-02
Technology, not uninsured patients, likely explains the steep rise in the cost of hospital care in Texas in recent years, according to Vivian Ho, the chair in health economics at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy, a professor of economics at Rice and a professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. Her findings were reported in an article appearing in the Oct. 1 online edition of the journal Healthcare Management, Practice and Innovation.
Ho emphasized her findings contradict a public perception that the rising numbers of uninsured persons explains ...
California's new mental health system helps people live independently
2013-10-02
CORVALLIS, Ore. – A new analysis by Oregon State University researchers of California's mental health system finds that comprehensive, community-based mental health programs are helping people with serious mental illness transition to independent living.
Published in the October issue of the American Journal of Public Health, this study has important implications for the way that states finance and deliver mental health programs, and speaks to the effectiveness of well-funded, comprehensive community programs.
In November of 2004, California voters passed the Mental ...
Transgendered males seen as an asset to some ancestral societies
2013-10-02
Transgendered androphilic males were accepted in traditional hunter-gatherer cultures because they were an extra set of hands to support their families. Conversely, by investing in and supporting their kin, these males ensured that their familial line – and therefore also their own genetic make-up – passed on to future generations despite their not having children of their own. This is according to an ethnographic study led by Doug VanderLaan of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Canada, published in Springer's journal Human Nature. The study reports that this ...
Likelihood of childhood obesity is linked to weight gained by mother during pregnancy
2013-10-02
Women who gain excessive weight in pregnancy are more likely to have overweight and obese children, according to a new study published this week in PLOS Medicine. A study by David Ludwig from Boston Children's Hospital in the USA and colleagues has concluded that even after making allowances for differences in birthweight, the likelihood of a child becoming obese is linked to the amount of weight that the mother gained in pregnancy.
In order to find out whether childhood obesity was due just to the conditions during pregnancy (which influence birthweight) or whether ...
Oxytocin injection by health workers without midwifery skills can prevent bleeding after delivery
2013-10-02
Community health officers (health workers who are not trained midwives) can safely give injections of the drug oxytocin to prevent severe bleeding after delivery (postpartum hemorrhage) when attending home births in rural areas of Ghana, according to a study by US and Ghanaian researchers in this week's PLOS Medicine.
The researchers, led by Cynthia Stanton from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the US, also found that oxytocin injections halved the risk of postpartum hemorrhage in women who delivered at home -- an important finding given that ...
Extended follow-up of hormone therapy trials does not support use for chronic disease prevention
2013-10-02
Extended follow-up of the two Women's Health Initiative hormone therapy trials does not support use of hormones for chronic disease prevention, although the treatment may be appropriate for menopausal symptom management in some women, according to a study in the October 2 issue of JAMA.
The hormone therapy trials of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) were stopped after investigators found that the health risks outweighed the benefits. Menopausal hormone therapy continues in clinical use, but questions remain regarding its risks and benefits over the long-term for chronic ...
Following bariatric surgery, use of opioids increases among chronic opioid users
2013-10-02
In a group of patients who took chronic opioids for noncancer pain and who underwent bariatric surgery, there was greater chronic use of opioids after surgery compared with before, findings that suggest the need for proactive management of chronic pain in these patients after surgery, according to a study in the October 2 issue of JAMA.
"Bariatric surgery is used to treat obesity, as well as its comorbid conditions such as cardiovascular and metabolic diseases and chronic pain. Bariatric surgery-related weight loss is associated with improvements in osteoarthritis-associated ...
Study finds increase in survival following bystander CPR for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest
2013-10-02
In Denmark between 2001 and 2010 there was an increase in bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) that was associated with an increase in survival following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, according to a study in the October 2 issue of JAMA.
Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest affects approximately 300,000 individuals in North America annually. "Despite efforts to improve prognosis, survival remains low, with aggregated survival-to-discharge rates less than 8 percent. In many cases, time from recognition of cardiac arrest to the arrival of emergency medical services ...
Exercise 'potentially as effective' as many drugs for common diseases
2013-10-02
The researchers argue that more trials comparing the effectiveness of exercise and drugs are urgently needed to help doctors and patients make the best treatment decisions. In the meantime, they say exercise "should be considered as a viable alternative to, or alongside, drug therapy."
Physical activity has well documented health benefits, yet in the UK, only 14% of adults exercise regularly, with roughly one third of adults in England meeting recommended levels of physical activity. In contrast, prescription drug rates continue to skyrocket, sharply rising to an average ...
Low and high body mass index linked to increased risk of heart disease among east Asians
2013-10-02
The findings stress the important role of higher BMI in the increasing rates of death from cardiovascular disease in Asia, which could be managed by policy and prevention strategies, say the authors.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death globally and is predicted to steadily increase over the next few decades. Many Asian populations that used to be physically active with a low BMI now have some of the world's highest rates of obesity.
Studies of BMI and CVD risk have generally been conducted in Europe and North America and no data is available ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
A root development gene that’s older than root development
Research reveals missed opportunities to save George Floyd’s life
HKUST discovers novel elastic alloy achieving 20x temperature change and 90% carnot efficiency in solid-state heat pumping
Early prediction of preterm birth in cell-free RNA may revolutionize prevention strategies
Largest phase 3 trial of novel treatment for hypertension shows promising results
European regulation needed to prevent the birth of children with inherited cancer-causing genetic mutation after sperm donation
Assembly instructions for enzymes
Rice geophysicist Ajo-Franklin wins Reginald Fessenden Award for pioneering work in fiber optic sensing
Research spotlight: New therapeutic approach stops glioblastoma from hijacking the immune system
‘Hopelessly attached’: Scientists discover new 2D material that sticks the landing
Flowers unfold with surprising precision, despite unruly genes
Research spotlight: Study provides a window into public perceptions about technological treatment options for brain conditions
Sound insulation tiles at school help calm crying children #ASA188
More young adults than ever take HIV-prevention medication, but gaps remain
Why are some rocks on the moon highly magnetic? MIT scientists may have an answer
Unique chemistry discovered in critical lithium deposits
Numerical simulations reveal the origin of barred olivine crystals in early solar system
Daytime boosts immunity, scientists find
How marine plankton adapts to a changing world
Charge radius of Helium-3 measured with unprecedented precision
Oral microbiota transmission partially mediates depression and anxiety in newlywed couples
First vascularized model of stem cell islet cells
US excess deaths continued to rise even after the COVID-19 pandemic
Excess US deaths before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic
Millions of HealthCare.gov participants face coverage loss due to burdensome reenrollment policies, according to new research
Study: DNA test detects three times more lung pathogens than traditional methods
Modulation of antiviral response in fungi via RNA editing
Global, regional, and national burden of nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage
Earliest use of psychoactive and medicinal plant ‘harmal’ identified in Iron Age Arabia
Nano-scale biosensor lets scientists monitor molecules in real time
[Press-News.org] Douglas Institute researchers identify the neural circuits that modulate REM sleepA world first