Being sleepless for several days produces circadian rhythm alterations in different regions of the brain throughout the day, according to a study carried out by experts from the University of Liège (Belgium) and the University of Surrey (United Kingdom), published in the journal Science.
Specifically, after scanning the brains of 33 people while they spent two days without sleep and when they recovered the hours of sleep, the scientists found that within 24 hours of being awake, the subcortical area followed the rhythm of the so-called ‘circadian clock’, while the frontal areas of the brain reduced their activity, recovering it after sleep.
Also, some brain regions combined both activities. In addition, the experts found that the effects of sleep deprivation on brain activity were more widespread when participants were asked to perform a simple task than when they did a more complex memory exercise.
Our data have shown the complex interplay between the biological clock and sleep.
This variety in the brain’s responses and the prominent component of the circadian rhythm throw new ideas into the complexity of the mechanisms by which the brain responds to sleep loss.
In fact, previous studies had already suggested that brain function is influenced by the time a person is awake and asleep, maintaining their constant activity during the day, deteriorating during the night, and improving “slightly” the next day.
In this sense, the new research has shown that these changes can also be detected by functional magnetic resonance imaging. “Our research helps to better understand how the brain maintains performance during the day and why attention difficulties occur when you go a day without sleep. Therefore, our data have shown the complex interaction between the biological clock and sleep,” the experts concluded.
Source: 20 minutes
