Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 15, 2026
05:05
Establishing a Device for Sleep Deprivation in Mice
Published on: September 22, 2023
Sleep deprivation amplifies striatal activation to monetary reward
B C Mullin1, M L Phillips, G J Siegle
1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora, CO 15213, USA.
Psychological Medicine
|January 5, 2013
Summary
One night of sleep deprivation alters brain activity in reward circuits. This sleep loss increases ventral striatum activity and reduces medial prefrontal cortex deactivation, impacting reward seeking behaviors.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Sleep Science
- Reward System Research
Background:
- Sleep loss is linked to increased reward seeking, but underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear.
- This study investigates how sleep deprivation affects neural responses to monetary rewards in young adults.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the neural correlates of reward processing after one night of sleep deprivation.
- To understand how sleep loss influences brain activity in regions associated with reward and decision-making.
Main Methods:
- A within-subjects crossover design was used with 27 healthy young adults.
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) assessed brain activity after normal sleep and sleep deprivation.
- Actigraphy monitored recent sleep history for one week prior to each condition.
Main Results:
- Sleep deprivation led to increased ventral striatum (VS) activity during reward anticipation and receipt.
- Reduced deactivation in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) was observed following sleep deprivation.
- Less total sleep in the preceding week correlated with reduced mPFC deactivation during reward.
Conclusions:
- Sleep loss causes aberrant functioning in the brain's reward circuitry, heightening the impact of rewarding stimuli.
- Altered reward processing due to insufficient sleep may contribute to disorders like addiction, compulsive behaviors, and mood disorders.
