This article discussed a study that was performed by the Stanford University School of Medicine. In this study scientist identified that the circuit that affects the sleep-wake cycle in the brain is connected to the reward system of the brain. They then theorized that if the two are connected in a circuit in the brain, then they must influence each other in some way. This connection is potentially important because 25-30 percent of American adults suffer from some sort of sleep disturbance and the current solutions are ones that shut off the entire brain. If better understood, new drugs could be produced which only targeted this circuit which would result in a higher quality sleep. Scientists then explored the connection between the sleep-wake cycle and the reward center. In the reward center there is a particular structure called the ventral tegmental area or VTA. This area is responsible for the secretion of dopamine. Scientists wondered if this dopamine helped to control the sleep-wake cycle because of the affect of drugs that increase dopamine secretion have on keeping the user awake. The scientists took this theory and tested in on lab mice. The scientists increased the levels of dopamine in mice during times where they would normally be sleeping and the mice woke up and stayed awake. At other times the scientists decreased the levels of dopamine in the mice during times where they would normally be awake and the mice went to sleep. From this scientists saw that by inhibiting the VTA site, the test mice wanted to go to sleep and were prone to activities that would enable them to go to sleep, such as building a nest.
This article caught my attention because often times I either get tired way too early in the day or I don't get tired at all at night. I could personally relate to the needs of this study and am very interested to see any future findings in this area. I think that lots of people have sleep problems like I do and studies like this will help the population get a better nights sleep.
http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2016/09/05/brain_circuit_that_drives_sleepwake_states_sleeppreparation_behavior_is_identified.html
Great topic! I was interested by the statement that "The scientists increased the levels of dopamine in mice during times where they would normally be sleeping and the mice woke up and stayed awake," and it made me wonder about cell phone usage at night and how that ties in to that statement about dopamine and sleep. I have heard that using cell phones can be addicting and they affect the rewards center of our brains, so I am wondering if using cell phones increases dopamine in our brains, which makes it harder to go to sleep at night. This is an interesting question for me because I often find it hard to go to sleep, even if I'm not doing anything else at all. - HQ
ReplyDeleteHey H.Q.! I was interested in this article and the question you asked, and decided to do some research on dopamine and cellphones. I found in a scientific article that research has found that "...it is plausible that the morbidity relating to the use of cell phones could have a neurophysiological basis in common with some conventional drugs, through acting on neurotransmitters..." While it is not completely proven, it seems to be a liable option that cell phone usage can act upon chemical levels in the brain. Although it never specifically said dopamine, I think it is safe to assume it is a possible option that this is one of the brain chemicals acted upon.
ReplyDeleteHere is the article I used for my research if you are interested in looking more into it:
file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/cell_addict_en.pdf
-A.R.