Citation

Zhu B, Dong Y, Xu Z, Gompf HS, Ward SA, Xue Z, Miao C, Zhang Y, Chamberlin NL, Xie Z. Neurobiol. Dis. 2012; 48(3): 348-355.

Affiliation

Geriatric Anesthesia Research Unit, Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129-2060; Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, The Affiliated Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, P. R. China, 200032.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.nbd.2012.06.022

PMID

22776332

Abstract

Hospitalized patients can develop cognitive function decline, the mechanisms of which remain largely to be determined. Sleep disturbance often occurs in hospitalized patients, and neuroinflammation can induce learning and memory impairment. We therefore set out to determine whether sleep disturbance can induce neuroinflammation and impairment of learning and memory in rodents. Five to 6-month-old wild-type C57BL/6J male mice were used in the studies. The mice were placed in rocking cages for 24hours, and two rolling balls were present in each cage. The mice were tested for learning and memory function using the Fear Conditioning Test one and 7days post-sleep disturbance. Neuroinflammation in the mouse brain tissues was also determined. Of the Fear Conditioning studies at one day and 7days after sleep disturbance, twenty-four hours sleep disturbance decreased freezing time in the context test, which assesses hippocampus-dependent learning and memory; but not the tone test, which assesses hippocampus-independent learning and memory. Sleep disturbance increased pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6 levels and induced microglia activation in the mouse hippocampus, but not the cortex. These results suggest that sleep disturbance induces neuroinflammation in the mouse hippocampus, and impairs hippocampus-dependent learning and memory in mice. Pending further studies, these findings suggest that sleep disturbance-induced neuroinflammation and impairment of learning and memory may contribute to the development of cognitive function decline in hospitalized patients.

Language: en