Scientists at Laboratory(麻豆传媒社区) and Stanford University have pinpointed the circuit in the brain that is responsible for sleepless nights in times of stress鈥攁nd it turns out that circuit does more than make you toss and turn. Their study, done in mice, ties the same neuronal connections that trigger insomnia to stress-induced changes in the immune system, which weaken the body鈥檚 defenses against a host of threats.
The study, reported September 9, 2020, in the journal Science Advances, connects and explains two familiar problems, says LaboratoryAssistant Professor Jeremy Borniger. 鈥淭his sort of stress-induced insomnia is well known among anybody that鈥檚 tried to get to sleep with a looming deadline or something the next day,鈥 he says. 鈥淎nd in the clinical world, it鈥檚 been known for a long time that chronically stressed patients typically do worse on a variety of different treatments and across a variety of different diseases.鈥
Like many aspects of the body鈥檚 stress response, these effects are thought to be driven by the stress hormone cortisol. Working in the Stanford lab of Luis de Lecea, where Borniger completed a postdoctoral fellowship prior to joining 麻豆传媒社区, the research team found a direct connection between stress-sensitive neurons in the brain that trigger cortisol鈥檚 release and nearby neurons that promote insomnia.
In mice, they found that signals from the hormone-releasing brain cells have a strong effect on the insomnia-inducing neurons. Interfering with that connection enabled mice to sleep peacefully even after being exposed to a stressful situation, whereas artificial simulation of the stress-sensitive cells instantly roused slumbering animals. 鈥淚t seems like it鈥檚 a pretty sensitive switch, in that even very weak stimulation of the circuit can drive insomnia,鈥 says Borniger.
The same connection, they found, also has a potent effect on the immune system. Stress significantly disrupts the abundance of certain immune cells in the blood, as well signaling pathways inside them, and the team was able to recreate these changes simply by stimulating the same neurons that link stress to insomnia.
Understanding this circuitry opens the door to a deeper understanding of the consequences of stress, not just in healthy individuals but also in disease, Borniger says:
鈥淚鈥檓 really interested in how we can manipulate distinct circuits in the brain to control not just the immune system at baseline, but in disease states like inflammatory bowel disease or in cancer or in psoriasis鈥攖hings that are associated with systemic inflammation. Because if we can understand and manipulate the immune system using the natural circuitry in the body rather than using a drug that hits certain targets within the system, I think that would be much more effective in the long run, because it just co-opts the natural circuits in the body.鈥
Written by: Jennifer Michalowski, Science Writer | publicaffairs@cshl.edu | 516-367-8455
Funding
National Institutes of Health, the Stanford Alzheimer鈥檚 Disease Center, and the Stanford Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science.
Citation
Li, S. et. al., 鈥淗ypothalamic circuitry underlying stress-induced insomnia and peripheral immunosuppression鈥, Science Advances, September 9, 2020. DOI:
Principal Investigator

Jeremy C. Borniger
Assistant Professor
Cancer Center Member
Ph.D., Ohio State University, 2017
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