Investigating how stress may cause sleep and memory deficits

Stress worsens sleep quality and can impair memory. Shinjae Chung, from the University of Pennsylvania, led a study to explore a neural pathway in male mice that stress may influence to cause sleep and memory disturbances.  

In their JNeurosci paper, the researchers artificially activated neurons in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) that were previously linked to stress. This experimental manipulation made mice sleep less and impaired how well mice performed in a memory task. Notably, when mice were stressed, artificially inhibiting these PVN neurons reduced stress-related memory issues while slightly improving sleep.  

Further probing what neural pathway may be involved, Chung and colleagues discovered that stress and artificial activation of the PVN neurons separately targeted another brain region called the lateral hypothalamus (LH). Bridging their findings together, the researchers found that this neural pathway from the PVN to the LH may be involved in stress-related memory impairment and sleep disruptions.  

According to the researchers, this neural pathway may inform future work exploring ways to improve sleep and cognitive deficits associated with stress-related disorders, at least in males. 

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About JNeurosci 

JNeurosci was launched in 1981 as a means to communicate the findings of the highest quality neuroscience research to the growing field. Today, the journal remains committed to publishing cutting-edge neuroscience that will have an immediate and lasting scientific impact, while responding to authors' changing publishing needs, representing breadth of the field and diversity in authorship. 

About The Society for Neuroscience 

The Society for Neuroscience is the world's largest organization of scientists and physicians devoted to understanding the brain and nervous system. The nonprofit organization, founded in 1969, now has nearly 35,000 members in more than 95 countries.