Sex Differences in Hippocampal Memory and Kynurenic Acid Formation Following Acute Sleep Deprivation in Rats.

ABSTRACT: Inadequate sleep is a prevalent problem within our society that can result in cognitive dysfunction. Elevations in kynurenic acid (KYNA), a metabolite of the kynurenine pathway (KP) of tryptophan degradation known to impact cognition, in the brain may constitute a molecular link between sleep loss and cognitive impairment. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the impact of 6 hours of sleep deprivation on memory and KP metabolism (brain and plasma) in male and female rats. Sleep-deprived males were impaired in a contextual memory paradigm, and both sexes were impaired in a recognition memory paradigm. After sleep deprivation, hippocampal KYNA levels increased significantly only in males. The response in hippocampal KYNA levels to sleep loss was suppressed in gonadectomized males, deline

SUBMITTER: Baratta AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5934413 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature