ObjectiveTo investigate response inhibition after total sleep deprivation (TSD) and the restorative effects of one night of recovery sleep (RS).MethodsFourteen healthy male participants performed a visual Go/NoGo task, and electroencephalogram recordings were conducted at five time points: (1) baseline, (2) after 12 h of TSD, (3) after 24 h of TSD, (4) after 36 h of TSD, and (5) following 8 h of RS. The dynamic changes in response inhibition during TSD and after 8 h of RS were investigated by examining the NoGo-N2 and NoGo-P3 event-related potential components.ResultsCompared with baseline, NoGo-P3 amplitudes were decreased, while the NoGo-N2 latency increased along with the awake time prolonged. NoGo anteriorization, which was minimized after 24 h of TSD, progressively decreased with increasing TSD. After 8 h of RS, recoveries of both the NoGo-P3 amplitude and NoGo-N2 latency in the prefrontal cortex were observed compared with the values after 36 h of TSD.ConclusionTSD induced a dose-dependent functional decline in the response inhibition of NoGo-N2 and NoGo-P3 on prefrontal cortex activation, and 8 h of RS resulted in recovery or maintenance of the response inhibition. However, it was not restored to baseline levels.LimitationsParticipants were chosen male college students only, thus the findings cannot be generalized to older people and women. Additionally, the sample size was small, and, thus, speculations on the meaning of the results of this study should be cautious. The EEG continuous recording should be employed to monitor the decline of alertness following TSD.

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Tetrahydroprotoberberines (THPBs) are isoquinoline alkaloids isolated from the Chinese herb Corydalis yanhusuo. In the present study, we performed competitive binding assays to examine the binding of l-THBr to neurotransmitter receptors known to be involved in sedation, hypnosis and anxiety. Our results show that l-THBr does not interact with GABAergic receptors but has binding affinities for dopamine and serotonin receptors. In addition, cAMP and [35S]GTPγS assays were used to determine the agonist or antagonist properties of l-THBr at dopamine (D1, D2) or serotonin (5-HT) receptors. Our results show that l-THBr displays D1 and D2 antagonist and 5-HT1A agonist properties. Moreover, l-THBr-treated rodents exhibit anxiolytic-like effects in the light/dark box and elevated plus-maze tests, and the anxiolytic effect of l-THBr can be reduced by WAY-100635, a selective 5-HT1A receptor antagonist. Our results suggest that l-THBr may produce potent anxiolytic-like effects mainly through serotonin receptors.

The impact of chronic cerebral hypoperfusion on resting-state blood oxygen level-dependent signal fluctuations remains unknown. We aimed to determine whether chronic ischemia induces changes in amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) and to investigate the correlation between ALFF and perfusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (PWI) parameters in patients with moyamoya disease (MMD). Thirty patients with pre- and postoperative resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and PWI were included, and thirty normal controls underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. A decrease in preoperative frontal lobe ALFF was observed in patients with MMD. Postoperative frontal lobe ALFF showed moderate improvement but still remained lower than those in normal controls. The values of mean transit time and time-to-peak, but not cerebral blood volume and cerebral blood flow, correlated significantly with frontal lobe ALFF. Moreover, there were significant negative correlations between changes in frontal lobe PWI parameters and changes in frontal lobe ALFF on both operated side and contralateral side after the unilateral revascularization surgery. Our results demonstrate that reduced ALFF are closely related to the abnormal PWI parameters and vary with the alteration of cerebral perfusion in patients with MMD.