Sleep Less Smile More: Interplay Between Sleep and Mood Disorders

11/15/2017 Most people have experienced the close links between their body rhythms and mood. For example, changes in sleep-wake cycle during jet lag can temporarily affect mood. In light of the fact that most people feel good, and function better, after a good night’s sleep, it is surprising that sleep deprivation therapy can rapidly treat depression in psychiatric patients. One of the leading hypotheses for the therapeutic effect of sleep deprivation is that it resets abnormal rhythms in depressed patients. This talk explores how stress affects the neurophysiology of brain circuits linking mood and rhythmic processes such as sleep. Dipesh Chaudhury, Assistant Professor of Biology, NYUAD