During the sleep phase, the brain could evacuate potentially toxic proteins that can lead to neurodegenerative diseases.
-1611300402.jpg "How sleep “cleans” the brain")
- During sleep, the brain of fruit flies sends all toxins to the kidneys to be eliminated
- The functioning of sleep in the fruit fly is similar to that seen in humans
Sleep is essential to stay healthy. It is during this time that the body reconfigures all of its functions. In a new study, researchers from Northwestern University (USA) reaffirm the importance of a good night’s sleep. According to them, it is during deep sleep that the brain eliminates its waste, and in particular that which could lead to neurodegenerative diseases. The results of their study were published in the journal Science Advances on January 20, 2021.
The fruit fly, our sleeping cousin
To understand how our brain cleaning works, researchers looked at the behavior of fruit flies. Although these insects look very different from humans, the neurons that govern their sleep-wake cycles are surprisingly similar to ours. This is how fruit flies became a species studied for sleep, circadian rhythms and neurodegenerative diseases.
In this experiment, the researchers examined proboscis extension sleep (PES), a stage of deep sleep in fruit flies that is similar to slow-wave deep sleep in humans. During this sleep phase, fruit flies repeatedly lengthen and retract their proboscis. “VSThe pumping motion moves fluids to the kidney version of the flydecrypts Ravi Allada, professor in the department of neurobiology at Northwestern University and lead author of the study. Our study shows that it facilitates the elimination of waste and helps wound healings.”
An indispensable cleaning function for survival
By disrupting the fruit flies’ sleep, their ability to dispose of waste was reduced. Like all animals, especially those living in nature, their vulnerability occurs when they sleep, because it is at this time that they reorganize their bodies to face the dangers of the next day, and to clean up what could hinder their survival. Thereby, in the interest of the animal, the function of cleaning outweighs that of vulnerability
“Our finding that deep sleep plays a role in waste disposal in the fruit fly indicates that waste disposal is an evolutionarily conserved essential function of sleep.says Ravi Allada. This suggests that waste disposal may have been a function of sleep in the common ancestor of flies and humans.. Eliminating waste could be important, in general, to maintain brain health or to prevent neurogenic diseases. Waste elimination can occur during wakefulness and sleep, but is significantly enhanced during deep sleep”.
.
-1611300402.jpg&description=How+sleep+%E2%80%9Ccleans%E2%80%9D+the+brain){kind=link}