同樣是熬了一個(gè)通宵，有的人會(huì)疲憊不堪,，有的人卻沒覺得有多累。歐洲科研人員最新的研究證實(shí),，這種差異實(shí)際上和一個(gè)名為PER3的基因有關(guān),。
來自比利時(shí)和英國的研究人員在24日出版的《神經(jīng)學(xué)雜志》上報(bào)告說,，此前的研究就發(fā)現(xiàn)PER3基因與人缺覺后的反應(yīng)有關(guān),，這個(gè)基因分為長(zhǎng)版和短版兩種。擁有短版PER3基因的人熬夜后認(rèn)知能力仍然如常,，顯示對(duì)睡眠缺乏的承受有一定彈性,。而擁有長(zhǎng)版PER3基因的人對(duì)熬夜非常敏感，熬夜后大腦活動(dòng)明顯減少,。
此次,，研究人員利用大腦掃描成像技術(shù)，揭示了長(zhǎng)版和短版PER3基因具體如何影響人對(duì)熬夜的反應(yīng),。分析發(fā)現(xiàn),，擁有短版PER3基因的人熬夜后，在完成認(rèn)知任務(wù)時(shí),，除了會(huì)激活正常的大腦區(qū)域,，還會(huì)額外調(diào)動(dòng)其他區(qū)域的大腦結(jié)構(gòu)前來“幫忙”。而擁有長(zhǎng)版PER3基因的人大腦則沒有這么靈活,。
研究人員說,，有些特殊行業(yè)，比如醫(yī)護(hù)人員,、民航飛行員,、卡車司機(jī)等，時(shí)常需夜間工作,。而通過PER3基因檢測(cè),，可以識(shí)別出哪些人群不適合夜間工作，從而可以個(gè)性化地安排工作,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原始出處：
The Journal of Neuroscience, June 24, 2009, 29(25):7948-7956; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0229-09.2009
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Assessed Brain Responses during an Executive Task Depend on Interaction of Sleep Homeostasis, Circadian Phase, and PER3 Genotype
Gilles Vandewalle,1 Simon N. Archer,2 Catherine Wuillaume,1 Evelyne Balteau,1 Christian Degueldre,1 André Luxen,1 Pierre Maquet,1 and Derk-Jan Dijk2
1Cyclotron Research Centre, University of Liège, B-4000 Liège, Belgium, and 2Surrey Sleep Research Centre, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XP, United Kingdom
Cognition is regulated across the 24 h sleep-wake cycle by circadian rhythmicity and sleep homeostasis through unknown brain mechanisms. We investigated these mechanisms in a functional magnetic resonance imaging study of executive function using a working memory 3-back task during a normal sleep-wake cycle and during sleep loss. The study population was stratified according to homozygosity for a variable-number (4 or 5) tandem-repeat polymorphism in the coding region of the clock gene PERIOD3. This polymorphism confers vulnerability to sleep loss and circadian misalignment through its effects on sleep homeostasis. In the less-vulnerable genotype, no changes were observed in brain responses during the normal-sleep wake cycle. During sleep loss, these individuals recruited supplemental anterior frontal, temporal and subcortical regions, while executive function was maintained. In contrast, in the vulnerable genotype, activation in a posterior prefrontal area was already reduced when comparing the evening to the morning during a normal sleep-wake cycle. Furthermore, in the morning after a night of sleep loss, widespread reductions in activation in prefrontal, temporal, parietal and occipital areas were observed in this genotype. These differences occurred in the absence of genotype-dependent differences in circadian phase. The data show that dynamic changes in brain responses to an executive task evolve across the sleep-wake and circadian cycles in a regionally specific manner that is determined by a polymorphism which affects sleep homeostasis. The findings support a model of individual differences in executive control, in which the allocation of prefrontal resources is constrained by sleep pressure and circadian phase.
