They explain how stress affects sleep and memory

A team of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania (USA) has identified a neural pathway in mice that could explain how stress impairs sleep quality and affects memory, according to a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience .

The work, led by neuroscientist Shinjae Chung , focused on the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN), a brain region previously associated with stress response.

By artificially activating these neurons in male mice, scientists observed a reduction in sleep time and worse performance on memory tests.

However, when mice were subjected to stressful situations, inhibiting these same neurons not only alleviated stress-related memory problems, but also slightly improved sleep quality.

The researchers also identified that both stress and artificial PVN activation affect another brain region: the lateral hypothalamus (LH).

This connection suggests that the PVN-LH pathway may be key to the negative effects of stress on sleep and memory.

Chung and his team note that these findings could open new avenues for developing treatments aimed at improving sleep disorders and cognitive deficits associated with stress, at least in men.