Why spend 1/3 of your life sleeping? Insomnia causes neuronal brain electrical activity disorder

Studies have found that insomnia can lead to confusion in the brain's electrical activity, which hinders the writing of memory.

Why do we spend one-third of our lives sleeping? This problem still lacks scientific explanations so far, but the study of damage to the brain at night of insomnia has given us a hint of inspiration, and it also provides exciting clues to the potential treatment of depression.

In a new study published in August, researchers found for the first time that sleep can reset the stable neuronal connections that the brain forms when awake. This process is important for the memory and learning of the brain so that we can adapt to the world around us.

Scientists have found that just one night of sleep loss is enough to block the brain's natural reset mechanism. Once deprived of rest time, the neurons in the brain seem to be over-connected, and the EEG activity is also disordered, so that the newly generated memory cannot be properly treated.

Christoph Nissen, a psychiatrist at the University of Freiburg in Germany, presided over the study, and he was excited about the potential function of this study to help people with mental illness. One of the root treatments for major depression is sleep deprivation, which means that patients are not allowed to sleep. Nissen believes that this therapy works by changing the brain connections of patients. This new study provides a deeper understanding of this phenomenon and has the potential to generate more practical treatments.

“Why do humans sleep? This is a fundamental question. Why do we spend so much time in our lives for this state of the brain? This study tells us that sleep is a highly active process of the brain and is not a waste of time. A healthy brain The function needs to sleep," Nissen said.

The results of this study also support the synaptic homeostasis hypothesis (SHY), a hypothesis proposed by scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2003. Our brain needs to receive a lot of information during the day, whether it's morning news, weather, or after-meal lunch and the raw materials needed for tea, and this theory can explain our brains absorbing a variety of things throughout the day. Why do you need a break after the information?

The SHY hypothesis believes that when we are awake, as the learning process progresses, the synapses that form the connections of neurons in the brain can be continuously enhanced, and the brain is filled with all kinds of information. This process requires a lot of energy, and sleep makes the brain activity smooth, consolidate memory and prepare for the next morning's cycle.

In this paper published in the journal Nature Communications, Nissen described a series of trials involving 11 males and 9 females between the ages of 19 and 25, some of them. After a good night's sleep, some did not sleep the night before. On sleepless nights, participants can play games, walk or cook food, but not caffeine. The researchers looked at it all the way to make sure they stay awake.

In the first round of experiments, Nissen used magnetic pulses to activate neurons in the brains of volunteers and trigger twitching of left hand muscles. For volunteers who are not sleeping, very weak pulses are enough to trigger muscle movement. This suggests that the brain lacking sleep is in a more exciting state, and the neurons in the brain are more closely connected than enjoying a good night's sleep.

Next, Nissen performed another form of brain stimulation to simulate how neurons are activated when memory is written. He found that neurons in the sleep deprivation experimental group were more difficult to respond, which also indicated that the write memory process was damaged by sleep loss.

In summary, the results of the study show that sleep can calm the brain's activity in order to write into memory. In contrast, brains that are deprived of sleep are disturbed by turbulent EEG activity, making it difficult to perform memory functions, so that the process is almost blocked. The consequences of sleep loss can be demonstrated by a simple memory test in which the tired volunteers perform much worse than the fully rested volunteers. However, how does sleep affect the brain connection? Extracting the mechanism may be much more important than answering the question “Why are we sleeping?” Knowing such a mechanism can help many night shift workers and military personnel who need to overcome the problem of lack of sleep, and develop new drugs or countermeasures to help them restore the normal connection of the brain. In this study, blood samples from volunteers showed that lack of sleep reduced the level of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which regulates synaptic connections in the brain.

But Nissen is more interested in the treatment of depression, which helps scientists better understand sleep deprivation therapy and its efficacy in depression. “If you let people with major depression do not sleep overnight, about 60% of patients will show substantial improvement in mood, motivation, and cognitive function. We believe this is because this therapy can convert these patients to a more favorable state," he said.

Although the efficacy of sleep deprivation therapy is striking, it is not widely used because many patients relapse in subsequent nighttime sleep. But Nissen thinks this is not the point. “It proves that we are likely to switch a person's different moods in just a few hours. Our idea is to use sleep and sleep deprivation to understand the brain and develop new treatment options. If antidepressants or psychotherapy are used, then It takes weeks or months to see the effect."

Giulio Tononi, a professor of sleep medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was the first scientist to present the SHY hypothesis. He believes the new study is "very subtle and powerful" and confirms that it can only be tested in animals. The experimental results carried out in the experiment.

“One of the main reasons why sleep is vital is that it allows the brain to store and consolidate old memories as they learn new things every day,” Tononi said. “Learning requires synaptic activity, which is very energy intensive and very It is easy to achieve saturation. During sleep, the brain can re-adjust the synaptic activity that gradually increases during the day to normal levels."

Lars Westlye, a psychologist at the University of Oslo in Norway, praised the study with "excellent brilliance," which he said could shed light on sleep biology, complex brain function, and schizophrenia. Links to many mental illnesses such as depression. Like Nissen, he also believes that a clearer understanding of brain connectivity may explain the significant effects of sleep deprivation therapy in patients with depression, and plans to study the efficacy of these patients.

"These new findings can strongly stimulate further research in the patient group, which will not only further understand the root causes of the disease, but also develop new treatments," Lars said. Why do we spend one-third of our lives sleeping? This problem still lacks scientific explanations so far, but the study of damage to the brain at night of insomnia has given us a hint of inspiration, and it also provides exciting clues to the potential treatment of depression.

In a new study published in August, researchers found for the first time that sleep can reset the stable neuronal connections that the brain forms when awake. This process is important for the memory and learning of the brain so that we can adapt to the world around us.

Scientists have found that just one night of sleep loss is enough to block the brain's natural reset mechanism. Once deprived of rest time, the neurons in the brain seem to be over-connected, and the EEG activity is also disordered, so that the newly generated memory cannot be properly treated.

Christoph Nissen, a psychiatrist at the University of Freiburg in Germany, presided over the study, and he was excited about the potential function of this study to help people with mental illness. One of the root treatments for major depression is sleep deprivation, which means that patients are not allowed to sleep. Nissen believes that this therapy works by changing the brain connections of patients. This new study provides a deeper understanding of this phenomenon and has the potential to generate more practical treatments.

“Why do humans sleep? This is a fundamental question. Why do we spend so much time in our lives for this state of the brain? This study tells us that sleep is a highly active process of the brain and is not a waste of time. A healthy brain The function needs to sleep," Nissen said.

The results of this study also support the synaptic homeostasis hypothesis (SHY), a hypothesis proposed by scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2003. Our brain needs to receive a lot of information during the day, whether it's morning news, weather, or after-meal lunch and the raw materials needed for tea, and this theory can explain our brains absorbing a variety of things throughout the day. Why do you need a break after the information?

The SHY hypothesis believes that when we are awake, as the learning process progresses, the synapses that form the connections of neurons in the brain can be continuously enhanced, and the brain is filled with all kinds of information. This process requires a lot of energy, and sleep makes the brain activity smooth, consolidate memory and prepare for the next morning's cycle.

In this paper published in the journal Nature Communications, Nissen described a series of trials involving 11 males and 9 females between the ages of 19 and 25, some of them. After a good night's sleep, some did not sleep the night before. On sleepless nights, participants can play games, walk or cook food, but not caffeine. The researchers looked at it all the way to make sure they stay awake.

In the first round of experiments, Nissen used magnetic pulses to activate neurons in the brains of volunteers and trigger twitching of left hand muscles. For volunteers who are not sleeping, very weak pulses are enough to trigger muscle movement. This suggests that the brain lacking sleep is in a more exciting state, and the neurons in the brain are more closely connected than enjoying a good night's sleep.

Next, Nissen performed another form of brain stimulation to simulate how neurons are activated when memory is written. He found that neurons in the sleep deprivation experimental group were more difficult to respond, which also indicated that the write memory process was damaged by sleep loss.

In summary, the results of the study show that sleep can calm the brain's activity in order to write into memory. In contrast, brains that are deprived of sleep are disturbed by turbulent EEG activity, making it difficult to perform memory functions, so that the process is almost blocked. The consequences of sleep loss can be demonstrated by a simple memory test in which the tired volunteers perform much worse than the fully rested volunteers. However, how does sleep affect the brain connection? Extracting the mechanism may be much more important than answering the question “Why are we sleeping?” Knowing such a mechanism can help many night shift workers and military personnel who need to overcome the problem of lack of sleep, and develop new drugs or countermeasures to help them restore the normal connection of the brain. In this study, blood samples from volunteers showed that lack of sleep reduced the level of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which regulates synaptic connections in the brain.

But Nissen is more interested in the treatment of depression, which helps scientists better understand sleep deprivation therapy and its efficacy in depression. “If you let people with major depression do not sleep overnight, about 60% of patients will show substantial improvement in mood, motivation, and cognitive function. We believe this is because this therapy can convert these patients to a more favorable state," he said.

Although the efficacy of sleep deprivation therapy is striking, it is not widely used because many patients relapse in subsequent nighttime sleep. But Nissen thinks this is not the point. “It proves that we are likely to switch a person's different moods in just a few hours. Our idea is to use sleep and sleep deprivation to understand the brain and develop new treatment options. If antidepressants or psychotherapy are used, then It takes weeks or months to see the effect."

Giulio Tononi, a professor of sleep medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was the first scientist to present the SHY hypothesis. He believes the new study is "very subtle and powerful" and confirms that it can only be tested in animals. The experimental results carried out in the experiment.

“One of the main reasons why sleep is vital is that it allows the brain to store and consolidate old memories as they learn new things every day,” Tononi said. “Learning requires synaptic activity, which is very energy intensive and very It is easy to achieve saturation. During sleep, the brain can re-adjust the synaptic activity that gradually increases during the day to normal levels."

Lars Westlye, a psychologist at the University of Oslo in Norway, praised the study with "excellent brilliance," which he said could shed light on sleep biology, complex brain function, and schizophrenia. Links to many mental illnesses such as depression. Like Nissen, he also believes that a clearer understanding of brain connectivity may explain the significant effects of sleep deprivation therapy in patients with depression, and plans to study the efficacy of these patients.

"These new findings can strongly stimulate further research in the patient group, which will not only further understand the root causes of the disease, but also develop new treatments," Lars said.