非人灵长类动物模型睡眠研究在神经精神疾病的早期诊断和药效评价中的作用

清醒-睡眠的周期性调节需要众多单胺类神经递质(5-HT、NE、DA等)、乙酰胆碱等兴奋性神经递质以及GABA等抑制性神经递质的参与。这些递质系统的异常不仅会导致睡眠周期紊乱,还与一系列的精神性和神经退行性疾病相关。睡眠异常被认为是抑郁症、帕金森氏病等神经系统疾病发生的早期预警信号。相比起低等哺乳动物,非人灵长类动物的睡眠与人类的睡眠具有更好的可比性。近来,利用非人灵长类动物来建立神经精神疾病模型的研究已取得明显进展。在建模的同时监测动物的睡眠状况,有助于我们进一步了解睡眠在这些疾病早期诊断和发展过程中的作用,为疾病的早期诊断、治疗和药效评价提供更好的客观依据。

Sleep disorder,a potential early diagnostic marker for psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases

Sleep/circadian timing depends on several neurotransmitter systems, including 5-HT, NE, DA, Ach, GABA, etc. These neurotransmitter systems play critical roles in mental, emotional and cognitive functions in the brain. Dysfunctions of these systems not only result in sleep disorder, but are also related to many psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases. Sleep disruption is tightly associated with an increased susceptibility to a broad range of psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases, such as depression and Parkinson diseases. Non-human primates, especially the rhesus monkey is an excellent biomedical model for human sleep and CNS diseases. Establishing nonhuman primates’ model of mental disorders and monitoring the sleep changes during the development of the model will help us to know more about the relationships between sleep disorder and psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases. Sleep disorder as an early marker for psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases would permit early intervention of these diseases and draw attention to the potential therapeutic benefits of normalizing sleep rhythms in individuals with brain pathologies.