PER3 and ADORA2A polymorphisms impact neurobehavioral performance during sleep restriction

The objective of the study was to determine whether ADORA2A or PER3 polymorphisms contribute to individual responsivity to sleep restriction. Nineteen healthy adults (ages 18-39, 11 males, 8 females) underwent sleep restriction (SR) which consisted of seven nights of 3 h time in bed (TIB) (04:00-07:00). SR was preceded by seven in-laboratory nights of 10 h TIB (21:00-07:00) and followed by three nights of 8 h TIB (23:00-07:00). Volunteers underwent psychomotor vigilance, objective alertness, and subjective sleepiness assessments throughout. Volunteers were genotyped for the PER3 VNTR polymorphism (PER3(4/4) n = 7; PER3(4/5) n = 10; PER3(5/5) n = 2) and the ADORA2A c.1083T>C polymorphism, (ADORA2A(C) (/T) n = 9; ADORA2A(T) (/T) n = 9; ADORA2A(C) (/C) n = 1) using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Separate mixed-model anovas were used to assess contributions of ADORA2A and PER3 polymorphisms. Results showed that PER3(4/4) and ADORA2A(C/T) individuals expressed greater behavioral resiliency to SR compared to PER(4/5) and ADORA2A(T/T) individuals. Our findings contrast with previously reported non-significant effects for the PER3 polymorphism under a less challenging sleep restriction regimen (4 h TIB per night for five nights). We conclude that PER3 and ADORA2A polymorphisms become more behaviorally salient with increasing severity and/or duration of sleep restriction (based on psychomotor vigilance). Given the small sample size these results are preliminary and require replication.