Research article summary (published 16 May 2009):

Management of sleep/wake cycles improves cognitive function in a transgenic mouse model of Huntington's disease.

Full Abstract

Normally, mice sleep during the day and are active at night. In Huntington's disease mice (R6/2 line) this circadian pattern disintegrates progressively over the course of their illness. Cognitive decline and apathy in R6/2 mice can be improved with sleeping drugs, suggesting that sleep disruption contributes to their neurological decline. We wondered if wakefulness was equally important. Here, we used two drugs to manage sleep/wake cycles in R6/2 mice, Alprazolam (to put them to sleep) and Modafinil (to wake them up). We found that both drugs improved cognitive function and apathy, but had a stronger effect when used in combination. Remarkably, beneficial effects on cognitive performance were also seen in vehicle-treated cage-mates of Alprazolam/Modafinil-treated mice, suggesting that behavioral intervention to regularize sleep/wake activity might be therapeutically useful. We suggest that focused management of sleep and wakefulness will slow the progression of cognitive decline and apathy in neurological conditions where sleep is disordered.

Author information

Author/s: Pallier, Patrick N (PN); Morton, A Jennifer (AJ);

Affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Brain research (Brain Res), published in Netherlands. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Jul; vol 1279 (issue ) : pp 90-8

Dates: Created 2009/06/22; Completed 2009/09/30;

PMID: 19450569, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 9/30/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Affect - drug effects Alprazolam - administration & dosage Animals Benzhydryl Compounds - administration & dosage Body Weight - drug effects Central Nervous System Stimulants - administration & dosage Cognition - drug effects Cognition Disorders - complications; drug therapy Disease Models, Animal Drug Therapy, Combination

Drug Therapy, Combination Female Huntington Disease - complications; drug therapy Hypnotics and Sedatives - administration & dosage Male Mice Mice, Transgenic Reversal Learning - drug effects Sleep - drug effects Wakefulness - drug effects

Associated Chemicals: Benzhydryl Compounds (0) ; Central Nervous System Stimulants (0) ; Hypnotics and Sedatives (0) ; Alprazolam (28981-97-7) ; modafinil (68693-11-8)

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