Scientists at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, USA) have found that a sleepless night can improve some of the brain connections responsible for good mood. The results of the study were published by the British medical journal. Medical Express.
We are talking about the contact of the amygdala of the brain with the anterior cingulate cortex. According to the researchers, this is due to improved mood in both some depressed patients and healthy people.
The experiments included 38 healthy people and 30 people with major depressive disorder, as well as 16 people who were allowed to sleep normally. All participants underwent three rounds of brain MRI scans. As a result, the experiment showed that after a missed dream, the moods of most of the experiment participants deteriorated. At the same time, mood improved in 13 (43%) of 30 patients with depression. After one night of restful sleep, 20 participants with major depressive disorder had an improvement in mood, while the rest worsened or remained unchanged. The connectivity between the amygdala and the anterior cingulate cortex was significantly increased in patients with mood improvement, but decreased in those without mood changes.
Researchers believe this link may reflect neural resistance to mood disorders after sleep loss. The researchers also linked the association to rapid sleep (REM) sleep. Its excess lowers the level of norepinephrine, and its absence during insomnia can give some people a respite from their antidepressant effect.
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