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Chronic Mild Circadian Disruption Alters Anxiety-Like Behavior and Spatial Navigation in Adult Mice
Jenna E J Gearey1,2, Chelsea Wong1,2,3, Allison K Yang1,2
1Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, AB, Canada.
Journal of Biological Rhythms
|August 10, 2026
Summary
Mild circadian disruption, even when subtle, significantly increases anxiety-like behaviors and impairs learning and memory in mice. This research highlights the impact of circadian rhythm disturbances on cognitive and psychological functioning.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Chronobiology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Sleep and circadian rhythm disruption negatively affects mental health and physiology.
- While extreme disruptions (e.g., jet lag) are studied, the impact of mild circadian mismatches, common in circadian rhythm sleep disorders (CRSD), is less understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of mild circadian disruption on anxiety-like behavior and spatial learning in mice.
- To assess how a subtle mismatch between environmental light-dark cycles and endogenous circadian periods influences behavior in different mouse strains.
Main Methods:
- Mice (BTBR and C57BL/6 strains) were housed in either a standard 24-hour light-dark (LD) cycle or a 22.75-hour LD cycle from conception.
- Adult mice underwent behavioral tests including open field, LD box, elevated plus maze for anxiety assessment, and Morris water maze for spatial learning.
Main Results:
- Mice exposed to a mismatched LD cycle exhibited increased anxiety-like behaviors in open field and LD box tests, and more impulsive behavior in the elevated plus maze.
- While all mice learned in the Morris water maze, disrupted female mice showed no improvement over training days, and disrupted mice generally spent less time in the target quadrant during probe trials, indicating learning and memory deficits.
Conclusions:
- Even mild, lifespan-long circadian disruption can lead to significant deficits in learning, memory, and increased anxiety-like behaviors in mice.
- This study demonstrates that subtle circadian mismatches, independent of other confounding factors, can alter cognitive and psychological functioning.
