Abstract
Sleep plays an important role in maintaining neuronal circuitry, signalling and helps maintain overall health and wellbeing. Sleep deprivation (SD) disturbs the circadian physiology and exerts a negative impact on brain and behavioural functions. SD impairs the cellular clearance of misfolded neurotoxin proteins like α-synuclein, amyloid-β, and tau which are involved in major neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. In addition, SD is also shown to affect the glymphatic system, a glial-dependent metabolic waste clearance pathway, causing accumulation of misfolded faulty proteins in synaptic compartments resulting in cognitive decline. Also, SD affects the immunological and redox system resulting in neuroinflammation and oxidative stress. Hence, it is important to understand the molecular and biochemical alterations that are the causative factors leading to these pathophysiological effects on the neuronal system. This review is an attempt in this direction. It provides up-to-date information on the alterations in the key processes, pathways, and proteins that are negatively affected by SD and become reasons for neurological disorders over a prolonged period of time, if left unattended.
Highlights
Sleep is a ubiquitous phenomenon occurring in life forms of the animal kingdom and has been shown to be present from Drosophila melanogaster to human beings
Sleep is regulated by two processes that work independently and influences sleep and sleep-related variables in conjunction “Rheostat” [4]: (1) Circadian rhythm—a process maintained by the biological clock in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the hypothalamus, which regulates sleep– wake cycles in response to the input from retina [5]; (2) homeostatic process—loss of sleep is compensated by extending subsequent sleep which is a function of waking duration and intermittent naps during the wake period
Based on the data from the American Sleep Apnea Association, “It is estimated that sleep-related problems affect 50 to 70 million Americans of all ages and socioeconomic classes.”
Summary
Sleep is a ubiquitous phenomenon occurring in life forms of the animal kingdom and has been shown to be present from Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly) to human beings. SD and SR have been reported to affect overall wellness and health, including, but not limited to lowering in the immune system, decrease in cognitive function and memory, learning, and disruption in emotional wellbeing [1]. REM sleep is characterized by uneven brain wave activity, muscle atonia, and increased eyeball movements [3]. NREM sleep is characterized by a low metabolic rate and an increase in brain temperature which helps to overcome the damages that are introduced during the wake cycle [7]. Sleep restriction increases prolactin and oxytocin and decreases body weight in pregnant rats. Offsprings from these rats show decreased hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression, suggesting the detrimental role of SR on neuronal growth factors during the developmental stage [14]. We attempt to provide information on the links between sleep deprivation/restriction on the changes in gene expression and pathophysiological mechanism associated with neurological disorders
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