Dynamic changes in cerebral and peripheral markers of glutamatergic signaling across the human sleep-wake cycle.

Sleep and brain glutamatergic signaling are homeostatically regulated. Recovery sleep following prolonged wakefulness restores efficient functioning of the brain, possibly by keeping glutamatergic signaling in a homeostatic range. Evidence in humans and mice suggested that metabotropic glutamate receptors of subtype-5 (mGluR5) contribute to the brain's coping mechanisms with sleep deprivation.

Prolonged Waking and Recovery Sleep Affect the Serum MicroRNA Expression Profile in Humans.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, abundant, non-coding RNA fragments that regulate gene expression and silencing at the post-transcriptional level. The miRNAs each control various downstream targets and play established roles in different biological processes. Given that miRNAs were recently proposed to contribute to the molecular control of sleep-wake regulation in animal models and narcoleptic patients, we investigated the impact of acute sleep deprivation on blood miRNA expression in healthy adult men of two different age groups.