MicroRNAs in Basolateral Amygdala Associated with Stress and Fear Memories Regulate Rapid Eye Movement Sleep in Rats.

Stress-related sleep disturbances are distressing clinical symptoms in posttraumatic stress disorder patients. Intensely stressful events and their memories change rapid eye movement (REM) sleep in animal models. REM sleep varies with individual differences of stress resilience or vulnerability.

Understanding the Heterogeneity of Human Pericyte Subsets in Blood-Brain Barrier Homeostasis and Neurological Diseases.

Pericytes are increasingly recognized as being important in the control of blood-brain barrier permeability and vascular flow. Research on this important cell type has been hindered by widespread confusion regarding the phenotypic identity and nomenclature of pericytes and other perivascular cell types. In addition, pericyte heterogeneity and mouse-human species differences have contributed to confusion.

Progressive increase in the complexity and translatability of rodent testing to assess space-radiation induced cognitive impairment.

Ground-based rodent models have established that space radiation doses (approximately those that astronauts will be exposed to on a mission to Mars) significantly impair performance in a wide range of cognitive tasks. Over the last 40 years there has been a progressive increase in both the complexity and the translatability (to humans) of the cognitive tasks investigated. This review outlines technical and conceptual advances in space radiation rodent testing approaches, along with the advances in analytical approaches, that will make data from ground based studies more amenable to probabilistic risk analysis.

Sleep Fragmentation Exacerbates Executive Function Impairments Induced by Low Doses of Si Ions.

Astronauts on deep space missions will be required to work autonomously and thus their ability to perform executive functions could be critical to mission success. Ground-based rodent experiments have shown that low (<25 cGy) doses of several space radiation (SR) ions impair various aspects of executive function. Translating ground-based rodent studies into tangible risk estimates for astronauts remains an enormous challenge, but should similar neurocognitive impairments occur in astronauts exposed to low-SR doses, a Numbers-Needed-to-Harm analysis (of the rodent data) predicts that approximately 30% of the astronauts could develop severe cognitive flexibility decrements.

Polysomnographically measured sleep changes in idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Polysomnographic studies conducted to explore sleep changes in idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) have not established clear relationships between sleep disturbances and iRBD. To explore the polysomnographic differences between iRBD patients and healthy controls and their associated factors, an electronic literature search was conducted in EMBASE, MEDLINE, All EBM databases, CINAHL, and PsycINFO inception to December 2019.34 studies were identified for systematic review, 33 of which were used for meta-analysis.

Group II metabotropic glutamate receptor activation in the basolateral amygdala mediates individual differences in stress-induced changes in rapid eye movement sleep.

Group II metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR2/3s) have been implicated in stress and trauma related disorders including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD is characterized by flashbacks, anxiety, and sleep disturbances. While many people are exposed to trauma in their lifetime, only a small percentage go on to develop PTSD, indicating individual differences in stress and emotional processing.

Insomnia and psychological reactions during the COVID-19 outbreak in China.

Li Y, Qin Q, Sun Q, Sanford LD, Vgontzas AN, Tang X. Insomnia and psychological reactions during the COVID-19 outbreak in China. .

Sleep in Parkinson's disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis of polysomnographic findings.

Polysomnographic studies have been conducted to explore sleep changes in Parkinson's disease (PD), but the relationships between sleep disturbances and PD are imperfectly understood. We conducted a systematic review of the literature exploring polysomnographic differences between PD patients and controls in EMBASE, MEDLINE, All EBM databases, CINAHL, and PsycIFNO. 67 studies were identified for systematic review, 63 of which were used for meta-analysis.