Rhythms of life: circadian disruption and brain disorders across the lifespan

By R. Logan, Colleen A. Mcclung. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 2018

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Many processes in the human body — including brain function — are regulated over the 24-hour cycle, and there are strong associations between disrupted circadian rhythms (for example, sleep–wake cycles) and disorders of the CNS. Brain disorders such as autism, depression and Parkinson disease typically develop at certain stages of life, and circadian rhythms are important during each stage of life for the regulation of processes that may influence the development of these disorders. Here, we describe circadian disruptions observed in various brain disorders throughout the human lifespan and highlight emerging evidence suggesting these disruptions affect the brain. Currently, much of the evidence linking brain disorders and circadian dysfunction is correlational, and so whether and what kind of causal relationships might exist are unclear. We therefore identify remaining questions that may direct future research towards a better understanding of the links between circadian disruption and CNS disorders. Many neurobiological processes are regulated on a circadian basis. Circadian rhythms change during development, into adulthood and with ageing, when certain disorders typically emerge. Here, Logan and McClung give an overview of the relationship between the circadian system and brain disorders across various life stages.

Subfields: Cognitive Neuroscience, Endocrine and Autonomic Systems

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/d5a232f327571b2cbcf5eaf440e69e2685dcd0ee