REM Sleep Labs Blog
Date posted: february 13, 2012 07:36pm
Recent studies conducted by a team of researchers from Oxford suggested a link between circadian rhythm disorders and mental disorders in patients with schizophrenia. Such a connection between sleep and mental conditions may change the way scientists have been thinking about schizophrenia as a psychological disorder and may bring researchers closer to determining a cause for schizophrenia. It may also help experts at an Orange County sleep center diagnose mental and psychological conditions in their sleep disorders patients. If you need help with a sleep disorder if you are a patient with schizophrenia who has trouble sleeping at night, call a professional at an Orange County sleep center.
Schizophrenia not very well understood, though it has been characterized by abnormal emotional responses, abnormal social behavior, illogical thought and a general inability to distinguish what is real from what is not real. It is often confused with other psychological disorders, such as bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder. Links between schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have also been suggested.
Nonetheless, the exact cause of schizophrenia remains a mystery both to psychiatrists and to medical researchers. The only well-supported findings are the illness’s genetic links, specifically to a gene called the SNAP25 gene, and certain environmental triggers in patients who have a history of schizophrenia in their families. Symptoms of schizophrenia usually appear starting in a patient’s teen years and, depending on the severity of the case, can be mild, occurring once in a while, to extremely debilitating on an almost daily basis. Schizophrenia patients often complain of trouble sleeping at night and of symptoms of sleep deprivation during the day.
Until results of the Oxford study were published, most professionals attributed sleeping problems in patients with schizophrenia to be only caused by of emotional stress associated with coping with a mental disorder and possibly side-effects of certain schizophrenia medications available on the market. However, the Oxford team’s study found that sleeping problems affected schizophrenia patients independently of medicinal use and difficulty dealing with the disorder and revealed that a link between sleep and mental disorders may be able to be traced to a genetic cause of schizophrenia.
In the Oxford study, normal lab mice and lab mice affected by bad SNAP25 genes (the aforementioned gene discovered to have close ties to schizophrenia in human patients) were placed in a simulated night-and-day environment wherein exposure to 12 hours of light was alternated with 12 hours of darkness. The idea behind the experiment was to manipulate the part of the mice’s brains that should, under normal circumstances, adjust to changing light levels. The normal lab mice acted as expected, eventually developing a habit of activity during the "daytime" hours and sleep and general inactivity during the "nighttime" hours. However, lab mice with defective SNAP25 genes failed to adjust to this normal cycle. They were active during the light hours and inactive during the dark hours.
These results suggest that a component of the SNAP25 gene is deeply related to an individual’s internal clock, a problem at the heart of many common sleep disorders, including insomnia. Further research into the relationship may clear up how irregular sleep cycles may cause bad connections between the body’s circadian rhythm and its brain that cause a person to act out of sync emotionally, logically and otherwise. While a circadian rhythm disorder may not fully explain the cause of schizophrenia, it may help researchers better understand the mental disorder and, more importantly, develop better treatment for schizophrenia patients. If you are experiencing problems sleeping and think you may benefit from a consultation with a sleep and neurology expert, contact an Orange County sleep center.
