Missing out on
sleep may cause the
brain to stop producing new cells, a study has suggested.Thework on rats, by a team from Princeton University found a lack of sleepaffected the hippocampus, a brain region involved in forming memories.The research in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science showed a
stress hormone causes the
effect.A UK expert said it would be
interesting to see if too little rather than no sleep had the same consequence.DeficitsThe researchers compared animals who were deprived of sleep for 72 hours with others who were not.They found those who missed out on rest had higher levels of the stress hormone corticosterone.It would be interesting to see if partial sleep
deprivation - getting alittle bit less sleep every night that you need - had the same effect Dr Neil Stanley, sleep expertThey also produced significantly fewer new brain cells in a particular region of the hippocampus.When the animals' corticosterone levels were kept at a constant level, the reduction in cell proliferation was abolished.Theresults suggest that elevated stress hormone levels resulting fromsleep deprivation could explain the reduction in cell production in theadult brain.Sleep patterns were restored to normal within a week.Howeverlevels of nerve cell production (neurogenesis) were not restored fortwo weeks, and the brain appears to boost its efforts in order tocounteract the shortage.Writing in PNAS, the researchers led byDr Elizabeth Gould, said that although the role of nerve cellproduction in adults remained unknown, "the suppression of adultneurogenesis may underlie some of the cognitive deficits associatedwith prolonged sleep deprivation."People who experience a lack of sleep experience concentration problems and other difficulties.Sleepexpert Dr Neil Stanley, based at the Norfolk and Norwich UniversityHospital, said the study's findings could not be directly translated tohumans because people did not go without sleep for 72 hours, unlessthey were in extreme circumstances.But he added: "It is aninteresting finding. It would be interesting to see if partial sleepdeprivation - getting a little bit less sleep every night that you need- had the same effect."
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