Findings reveal brain mechanisms at work during sleep

Insights into how sleep deprivation impacts dementia, different types of memory, and learning

2012-10-17

(Press-News.org) NEW ORLEANS — New findings presented today report the important role sleep plays, and the brain mechanisms at work as sleep shapes memory, learning, and behavior. The findings were presented at Neuroscience 2012, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world's largest source of emerging news about brain science and health.

One in five American adults show signs of chronic sleep deprivation, making the condition a widespread public health problem. Sleeplessness is related to health issues such as obesity, cardiovascular problems, and memory problems.

Today's findings show that:

Sleepiness disrupts the coordinated activity of an important network of brain regions; the impaired function of this network is also implicated in Alzheimer's disease (Andrew Ward, abstract 909.05, see attached summary).

Sleeplessness plays havoc with communication between the hippocampus, which is vital for memory, and the brain's "default mode network;" the changes may weaken event recollection (Hengyi Rao, PhD, abstract 626.08, see attached summary).

In a mouse model, fearful memories can be intentionally weakened during sleep, indicating new possibilities for treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (Asya Rolls, abstract 807.06, see attached summary).

Loss of less than half a night's sleep can impair memory and alter the normal behavior of brain cells (Ted Abel, PhD, abstract 807.13, see attached summary).

Other recent findings discussed show:

How sleep enables the remodeling of memories — including the weakening of irrelevant memories — and the coherent integration of old and new information (Gina Poe, PhD, see attached speaker's summary).

The common logic behind seemingly contradictory theories of how sleep remodels synapses, aiding cognition and memory consolidation (Giulio Tononi, MD, PhD, see attached speaker's summary).

"As these research findings show, we cannot underestimate the importance of a good night's sleep," said press conference moderator Clifford Saper, PhD, MD, from the Harvard Medical School, an expert on sleep and its deprivation. "Brain imaging and behavioral studies are illuminating the brain pathways that are blocked or contorted by sleep deprivation, and the risks this poses to learning, memory, and mental health."

###This research was supported by national funding agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, as well as private and philanthropic organizations.

Click here to view the full press release.

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Foot, knee and hip pain a problem in obese children

2012-10-17

Pain in the lower extremities - feet, ankles, knees and hips - contributes to both poor physical function and a reduced quality of life in obese children, according to a new study by Dr. Sharon Bout-Tabaku and colleagues, from Nationwide Children's Hospital and The Ohio State University in the US. Their work shows that obese children with lower extremity pain have worse physical function and poorer psychological health than obese children without lower extremity pain. Their findings appear online in Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research®, published by Springer. Obese ...

Reprogramming cell identity in the pituitary gland

2012-10-17

A team of researchers at the IRCM, supervised by Dr. Jacques Drouin, reprogrammed the identity of cells in the pituitary gland and identified critical mechanisms of epigenetic cell programming. This important discovery, published yesterday by the scientific journal Genes & Development, could eventually lead to new pharmacological targets for the treatment of Cushing's disease. Dr. Drouin's team studies the pituitary gland, which is the master gland located at the base of the skull that secretes hormones to control all other glands of the endocrine system. Disruption ...

New diabetes screening guidelines released

2012-10-17

OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA — Routine screening for type 2 diabetes in adults at low and moderate risk is not recommended, although it is recommended for people at high and very high risk of the disease, state new diabetes screening guidelines published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) http://www.cmaj.ca/content/184/15/1687.full. The guidelines suggest using a risk calculator and then screening based on the predicted risk of diabetes. "These new guidelines bring precision and convenience with web-based risk calculators and nonfasting A1C to diabetes screening," ...

Marriage, education can help improve well-being of adults abused as children

2012-10-17

Researchers investigating the long-term consequences of child abuse have identified some protective factors that can improve the health of victims during their adulthood. Men and women in their 30s who had been abused or neglected as children reported worse mental and physical health than their non-abused peers. But being married or having graduated from high school buffered the severity of their symptoms. The researchers also found that adults who experienced child abuse reported less happiness and self-esteem, more anger and other psychological damage, indicating ...

Fostering tomorrow's scientific breakthroughs: New American Chemical Society video

2012-10-17

WASHINGTON, Oct. 16, 2012 — A new episode in the American Chemical Society's (ACS') popular Prized Science video series features a virtuoso in teaching the next generation of scientists, who must discover tomorrow's life-saving medicines and new fuels and help solve other global challenges. The videos from the world's largest scientific society are available at www.acs.org/PrizedScience and by request on DVD. Titled Prized Science: How the Science Behind American Chemical Society Awards Impacts Your Life, the fourth episode of the 2012 series features the work of Diane ...

Physics explains how sickling cells make people sick

2012-10-17

PHILADELPHIA (October 16, 2012)— Researchers at Drexel University have identified the physical forces in red blood cells and blood vessels underlying the painful symptoms of sickle cell disease. Their experiment, the first to answer a scientific question about sickle cell disease using microfluidics engineering methods, may help future researchers better determine who is at greatest risk of harm from the disease. They report their findings in Cell Press's Biophysical Journal today. Capillary Blockage Conundrum Like many scientific questions, this discovery began with ...

New study sheds new light on the progression and invasiveness of ductal breast cancer

2012-10-17

Philadelphia, PA, October 16, 2012 – Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is considered a precursor lesion for invasive breast cancer if untreated, and is found in approximately 45% of patients with invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC). Patients with DCIS only (not accompanied by invasive disease) have a 5-year-survival of nearly 100%, compared to 89% for all stages of invasive breast cancer (24% for patients with distant metastasis). A new study has found that despite an enormous degree of intercellular heterogeneity in both DCIS and IDC, the evolution from noninvasive to invasive ...

Non-disclosure of geographic earnings can be a marker of tax avoidance

2012-10-17

Multinational corporations that choose not to disclose geographic earnings are more likely to engage in income-shifting activities, says a study from UofT's Rotman School. Toronto – Policy makers, lobby groups and citizens should take note—those who understand corporate tax avoidance behavior will be in a better position to deter it. A recent study by Prof. Ole-Kristian Hope, who holds the Deloitte Professorship of Accounting at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, along with Mark (Shuai) Ma and Wayne B. Thomas from the Michael F. Price College ...

Fruit fly's 'sweet tooth' short-lived: U of British Columbia research

2012-10-17

The humble fruit fly may have something to teach us about forgoing empty calories for more nutritional ones – especially when we're hungry. While the flies initially prefer food with a sweet flavour, they quickly learn to opt for less sweet food sources that offer more calories and nutritional value, according to new research by University of British Columbia zoologists. The findings, published this week in the Journal of Neuroscience, are the first to measure the shift in food preference over time, and the first to find that flies opt for nutritious food more quickly ...

Patient-reported outcomes essential to comparative effectiveness research

2012-10-17

Chapel Hill, NC – Patient-reported outcomes should be a standard part of evaluating the comparative effectiveness of cancer treatments, according to recommendations put forward by a multi-institution research group. In an early release article published this week online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, a research group led by Ethan Basch, MD, Director of the Cancer Outcomes Research Program at UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, recommends that patient-reported symptoms and health-related quality of life measures should be assessed in comparative effectiveness ...

Findings reveal brain mechanisms at work during sleep

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: