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Scientists may be one step to closer to a "cure" for jet lag, according to a new study done in mice.
Jet lag occurs when the "master clock" in the brain falls out of sync with the actual time. That master clock thinks it's time to go to bed, it's your time.
The master clock is found in an area of the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). Nerve cells in the SCN take off from the sun, syncing themselves to the 24-hour rotation of the Earth. [The Science of Jet Lag: 5 Surprising Findings]
But some of the cells in the SCN have more influence than others, according to the study, published today (July 12) in the journal Neuron. That's because around 10 percent of these cells – in both mice and humans – produce a molecule called "vasoactive intestinal polypeptide," or VIP. This very important molecule plays an essential role in how nerve cells interact and sync with one another.
"We hypothesized that VIP neurons are like the grandmothers who are in charge of telling everyone what to do," Erik Herzog's senior study biology professor at Washington University in St. Louis, said in a statement. Neuron activity to the release of VIP neurons, according to the study.
So, to tease out how VIP neurons talked to each other, the researchers started by recording the electrical impulses that pass through neurons and neurons in a lab dish for three days.
They found that VIP neurons in two ways: "Tonic" VIP neurons fired quite steadily Violation of neurons in fired in double or triple bursts, with equal spaces of non-activity in between, according to the study.
Next, the researchers sought to "hack" these neurons in mouse brains, in order to reset their master clocks. To do so, they are the first time they are in the world, and they are keeping the animals in the dark. Then, to "hack" the VIP neurons, the researchers delivered to the cells at the same time every day, which they say was akin to flying to a new time zone, according to the statement.
The mice took longer to adapt to the "new time zone" if the VIP neurons were firing steadily, the researchers found. But when the neurons fired irregularly, the mice were able to adapt more rapidly. The difference? It was the irregular firing pattern that caused the neurons to release the VIP chemicals, Herzog said.
They also found that by activating the VIP neurons, the mice changed their wheel-running behavior. When these neurons were activated, the mice exerted less activity, running less in their wheels. This "suggests a role for VIP neurons in regulating circadian behaviors including sleep timing," the researchers wrote in the study.
"VIP, we think, is the juice that is capable of shifting the clock faster," Herzog said. The findings raised the possibility of a molecule researchers could target a treatment for jet lag; namely, VIP. If scientists could get cells to release on the basis of the definition of the term, it could be used in the past.
Because the study was done in mice, however, more research is needed to confirm the findings in humans
] Originally published on Live Science .
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