Memory dysfunction and anxiety-like behavior in a mouse model of chronic sleep disorders

Abstract

Sleep disturbances can contribute to cognitive decline and neuropsychiatric disorders. However, the underlying mechanisms of these processes are poorly understood. The present study evaluated the effects of a chronic sleep disorder (CSD) on long-term memory formation and anxiety-like behavior in our originally established mouse model of psychophysiological stress-induced CSD characterized by disrupted circadian rhythms of wheel-running activity and sleep-wake cycles. Model mice are continuously exposed to mild stress imposed by perpetually staying on a running-wheel to avoid water. The findings of novel object recognition (NORT) and open field (OFT) tests showed that CSD impaired recognition memory and elicited anxiety-like behavior, respectively. These results suggested that the CSD impaired cognitive function and emotional status. Thus, this CSD model could be useful for studying the underlying mechanisms of neurobehavioral difficulties caused by sleep disorders. We then examined the hippocampal mRNA expression of genes associated with learning and memory, and anxiety and depression. The CSD increased the mRNA expression of Crhr1, Ngf and Phlpp1, and suppressed that of Ace, Egr2 and Slc6a4. Based on the functions of these genes, we inferred that the increase in Crhr1 mRNA was associated with the pathogenesis of psychiatric conditions, whereas mRNA levels of the other five genes were directed towards symptom relief. Upregulating hippocampal Crhr1 expression might contribute in part to the activation of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH)-CRH receptor1 signaling that mediates CSD-evoked mental disorders.