Brief sleep disruption alters synaptic structures among hippocampal and neocortical somatostatin-expressing interneurons.

Study Objectives: Brief sleep loss alters cognition and synaptic structures of principal neurons in hippocampus and neocortex. However, while recording and bioinformatic data suggest that inhibitory interneurons are more strongly affected by sleep loss, it is unclear how sleep and sleep deprivation affect interneurons' synapses. Disruption of the SST+ interneuron population seems to be a critical early sign of neuropathology in Alzheimer's dementia, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder - and the risk of developing all three is increased by habitual sleep loss.