根據(jù)6月30日的Journal of Neuroscience雜志上的一項(xiàng)最新研究,，在睡眠的初始階段，大腦一些區(qū)域中的能量水平顯著降低,，而這些區(qū)域在清醒狀態(tài)下是表現(xiàn)活躍的,。研究表明大腦在睡眠的時(shí)候經(jīng)歷著細(xì)胞能量的補(bǔ)充過(guò)程，該過(guò)程對(duì)清醒狀態(tài)下大腦執(zhí)行正常的功能來(lái)說(shuō)是必需的,。
晚間良好的休息能夠使我們恢復(fù)精力,，但是在睡眠過(guò)程中實(shí)際發(fā)生的生物學(xué)過(guò)程卻很難捉摸?？茖W(xué)家認(rèn)為大腦的能量水平是夜間恢復(fù)的關(guān)鍵,。文章作者Basheer教授表示,，他們的這項(xiàng)研究將解釋一個(gè)重要的生物學(xué)問(wèn)題，即睡眠的功能,。在某種程度上他們也有點(diǎn)驚訝,，因?yàn)樽罱@些年還沒(méi)有科研人員使用最敏感的測(cè)量方法進(jìn)行大腦能量研究。
在這項(xiàng)研究中,，研究人員測(cè)量了大鼠中三磷酸腺苷（ATP）的水平,，結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn)當(dāng)老鼠處在非快速動(dòng)眼睡眠中，在4個(gè)清醒狀態(tài)下活躍的大腦關(guān)鍵區(qū)域中,，ATP水平增加,，同時(shí)伴隨著大腦活性的全面降低。當(dāng)大鼠處在清醒狀態(tài)時(shí),，ATP水平是穩(wěn)定的,。此外，當(dāng)輕輕觸碰正常睡眠時(shí)間過(guò)去3或6個(gè)小時(shí)的清醒老鼠,，ATP水平也不會(huì)增加,。因此，研究人員得出結(jié)論睡眠對(duì)于ATP能量補(bǔ)充是必需的,，保持大鼠處在清醒狀態(tài)則會(huì)阻止ATP水平上升,。
美國(guó)睡眠研究方面的專家Robert Greene博士認(rèn)為，這項(xiàng)研究為"依賴于睡眠的能量上升對(duì)于促進(jìn)能量補(bǔ)充的生物合成過(guò)程來(lái)說(shuō)是必需的"這一理論提供了一個(gè)十分有趣的證據(jù),。另外Robert Greene博士就該發(fā)現(xiàn)提出了一個(gè)疑問(wèn),，這項(xiàng)研究的作者提出睡眠過(guò)程中能量的上升和大腦中細(xì)胞活性的降低有關(guān)，但是這同樣也可能是一些其他的因素導(dǎo)致的,，其中就包括大腦的細(xì)胞信號(hào)過(guò)程,。(生物谷Bioon.net)
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生物谷推薦原文出處：
The Journal of Neuroscience doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1423-10.2010
Sleep and Brain Energy Levels: ATP Changes during Sleep
Markus Dworak, Robert W. McCarley, Tae Kim, Anna V. Kalinchuk, and Radhika Basheer
Laboratory of Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System and Harvard Medical School, West Roxbury, Massachusetts 02132
Sleep is one of the most pervasive biological phenomena, but one whose function remains elusive. Although many theories of function, indirect evidence, and even common sense suggest sleep is needed for an increase in brain energy, brain energy levels have not been directly measured with modern technology. We here report that ATP levels, the energy currency of brain cells, show a surge in the initial hours of spontaneous sleep in wake-active but not in sleep-active brain regions of rat. The surge is dependent on sleep but not time of day, since preventing sleep by gentle handling of rats for 3 or 6 h also prevents the surge in ATP. A significant positive correlation was observed between the surge in ATP and EEG non-rapid eye movement delta activity (0.5–4.5 Hz) during spontaneous sleep. Inducing sleep and delta activity by adenosine infusion into basal forebrain during the normally active dark period also increases ATP. Together, these observations suggest that the surge in ATP occurs when the neuronal activity is reduced, as occurs during sleep. The levels of phosphorylated AMP-activated protein kinase (P-AMPK), well known for its role in cellular energy sensing and regulation, and ATP show reciprocal changes. P-AMPK levels are lower during the sleep-induced ATP surge than during wake or sleep deprivation. Together, these results suggest that sleep-induced surge in ATP and the decrease in P-AMPK levels set the stage for increased anabolic processes during sleep and provide insight into the molecular events leading to the restorative biosynthetic processes occurring during sleep.
