Teen Brains & Sleep: Impact of Disrupted Routines
Daily Rhythms Impact Adolescent Brain development
Disrupting the body’s internal clock during adolescence can change how the brain responds to prenatal risk factors associated wiht brain disorders, according to a new study led by McGill University.
Previous research has linked maternal infections during pregnancy, such as the flu, to an increased risk of conditions like schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders in children. Irregular sleep patterns, often indicative of circadian rhythm disruption, are also associated with these conditions.
Researchers exposed mice to prenatal infection, adolescent circadian disruption (via constant light), both, or neither.Each factor alone caused some changes, but the combination altered memory, anxiety, social behavior, and gene activity in brain regions linked to the disorders, according to the paper published in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.
“while more research is needed, our findings suggest that people exposed to multiple risk factors may need to be especially mindful of their daily rhythms,” said Tara Delorme, lead author and former Ph.D. student at the Douglas Research Center.
Surprisingly, the combined effects didn’t always worsen outcomes.
“We assumed the effects would be additive,” said Nicolas Cermakian, a psychiatry professor at McGill. “but in some cases, disruption of biological rhythms actually reduced the impact of prenatal infection, suggesting unexpected interactions.”
The researchers focused on adolescence due to its sensitivity in brain development.
“Adolescents are vulnerable,” Cermakian said. “Their internal clocks tend to run later, but school starts early. Evening screen exposure and artificial light can further delay their biological rhythms, leading to social jet lag.”
This mismatch between the body’s internal clock and daily schedules has been linked to various health issues, he added.
The research team, including McGill psychiatry professors Lalit Srivastava and Patricia Silveira, is now investigating the gene changes observed in mice to understand human brain development.
what’s next
Future studies will explore the specific gene changes identified in the mice to better understand the mechanisms by which disrupted daily rhythms and prenatal factors influence brain development and mental health outcomes.