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Optogenetic Manipulation of Neural Circuits During Monitoring Sleep/wakefulness States in Mice

Optogenetic Manipulation of Neural Circuits During Monitoring Sleep/wakefulness States in Mice

Published on: June 19, 2019

Sleep quality and neural circuit function supporting emotion regulation.

Jared D Minkel¹, Kristin McNealy, Peter J Gianaros

¹Laboratory of NeuroGenetics, Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Duke University, 417 Chapel Dr,, Durham, NC 27708, USA. jared.minkel@duke.edu.

Biology of Mood & Anxiety Disorders

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Summary

Everyday sleep variations do not significantly impact emotion regulation neural circuits. However, sleep medication use may influence these brain pathways, warranting further investigation into its causal role in emotional responses.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Psychology

Background:

Extended sleep deprivation studies link sleep changes to emotion regulation deficits.
Previous research suggests brain region alterations associated with sleep difficulties and emotion regulation.
The impact of typical daily sleep variability on emotion regulation neural circuits remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the relationship between common sleep variability and the neural circuitry of emotion regulation.
To examine how cognitive reappraisal of negative emotional stimuli is affected by sleep patterns.
To determine if sleep quality or medication use influences brain activity during emotion regulation.

Main Methods:

Utilized the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) to assess sleep patterns.
Employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during an emotion regulation task.
Analyzed data from 97 adult volunteers performing cognitive reappraisal of negative stimuli.

Main Results:

Emotion regulation engaged prefrontal cortex (dmPFC, dlPFC) and parietal cortex.
Only PSQI subscale 'use of sleep medications' correlated with neural activity in dmPFC and dlPFC.
Sleep medication use predicted reduced BOLD responses during reappraisal; other sleep aspects showed no relation.

Conclusions:

Modest daily sleep variability is unlikely to disrupt neural circuits for emotion regulation via cognitive reappraisal.
Sleep medication use may impact emotion regulation circuitry, but causality requires further study.
The findings suggest a nuanced relationship between sleep, medication, and emotional processing.