Fragmented sleep affects memory

Fragmented sleep affects memory and the brain capacity to form “memories”, according to a recent study on mice, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

This finding may explain the appearance of memory disorders associated with various diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and sleep apnea syndrome (SAS), informs bbc.co.uk.

Researchers at Stanford University in the United States found that fragmented sleep makes it difficult for animals to recognize familiar objects.

According to a British expert, the brain evaluates events during a deep sleep the events of the day and decides what information to keep.

U.S. scientists have analyzed the fragmented sleep, which was shorter and less deeper than sleep considered “normal” for mice. They used a technique called “optogenetics”, in which certain cells are genetically modified to be controlled by light beams.

Researchers focused on a particular type of brain cells that play a major role in the initiation of sleep and the state of the animal when awake.

Scientists have directed pulses of light directly into the brains of mice while they slept. In this way, their sleep was interrupted, but without affecting the overall duration of sleep or deep sleep hours. The animals were then placed in a box with two objects, one of them already known to them.

Naturally, the mice spend more time examining new objects and specimens that were part of an non-fragmented sleep behaved exactly this way. However, the ones that had the sleep interrupted were equally interested in both objects, suggesting that their memory was affected.

“The continuity of sleep is one of the main factors found in the case of pathological conditions that have an impact on memory and Alzheimer’s disease and other cognitive deficits associated with old age”, said Dr. Luis de Lecea, who led the study.

Fragmented sleep affects alcohol addicts and those suffering from sleep apnea syndrome – a condition in which the throat narrows or closes repeatedly during sleep, restricting the flow of oxygen and causing the patient to wake up repeatedly during the night.

SOURCE: dotspress