Abstract
Poor sleep quality and disrupted circadian behavior are a normal part of aging and include excessive daytime sleepiness, increased sleep fragmentation, and decreased total sleep time and sleep quality. Although the neuronal decline underlying the cellular mechanism of poor sleep has been extensively investigated, brain function is not fully dependent on neurons. A recent antemortem autographic study and postmortem RNA sequencing and immunohistochemical studies on aged human brain have investigated the relationship between sleep fragmentation and activation of the innate immune cells of the brain, microglia. In the process of aging, there are marked reductions in the number of brain microglial cells, and the depletion of microglial cells disrupts circadian rhythmicity of brain tissue. We also showed, in a previous study, that pharmacological suppression of microglial function induced sleep abnormalities. However, the mechanism underlying the contribution of microglial cells to sleep homeostasis is only beginning to be understood. This review revisits the impact of aging on the microglial population and activation, as well as microglial contribution to sleep maintenance and response to sleep loss. Most importantly, this review will answer questions such as whether there is any link between senescent microglia and age-related poor quality sleep and how this exacerbates neurodegenerative disease.
Highlights
Due to advanced medical support, there are more individuals aged >65 years than children aged
On the basis of a recent study on microglial phagocytosis of synapses during sleep in healthy adult brain [12], we conducted this review study to answer whether senescent microglia should be considered in understanding the cause of sleep abnormalities in the elderly population
Our conclusion is that the evidence for such a role is overwhelming—microglia play an important role in sleep regulation and the aged brain suffers a major loss of the microglial population and its associated function
Summary
Due to advanced medical support, there are more individuals aged >65 years than children aged
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