The causes of depression are many and complex , but who ’d have cogitate too much light could be part of the trouble ? Hamsters who sleep in full swarthiness are less susceptible to low , and the same could be true of humans .
Ohio State neuroscientist Tracy Bedrosian put hamsters in one of two dissimilar environments . In the first , the hamster spent 16 hour in day and then spent 8 hours in absolute iniquity . The second chemical group still got 16 hours of daylight , but their 8 dormancy hours were pass in the troupe of a dim light , close to the equivalent of leave one ’s idiot box on all night in an otherwise dark elbow room .
Eight weeks by and by , Bedrosian tested the hamsters for sign of depression . The easiest way to spot depressive disorder in an animal like a hamster is see whether they demonstrate a preference for gratifying treat like moolah H2O . The hamsters that spent 8 hour in total wickedness showed a clear penchant for sugar water over even piss , but the hamster that slept with a wispy light show no preference at all . That suggests they ’re suffering from anhedonia , or an unfitness to palpate pleasure , a cardinal indicator of slump .
Indeed , there were key differences in the brains of the two hamster groups . The hamster that slept with the light had few dendritic spines , anatomical structure retrieve near the hippocampus that are all-important for communication between brain cells . This ties in with human cogitation of depression that show the disease correlates with a shrinking of the hippocampus region .
Bedrosian hint that these Einstein change could be cause by a lack in the endocrine melatonin . The internal secretion is essential in let the body eff that it ’s nighttime , but nearby light sources can shorten its production . Other studies have discover melatonin ’s antidepressant qualities , which suggests a lack of it could spur on depression . This also fits neatly with studies manifest an increase risk of humour disorders for people who figure out at night .
in good order now , this gist has only been demonstrated in hamster , not world . Still , there ’s decorous reason to retrieve this could hold rightful for humans as well , so Bedrosian articulate it might be a good idea to quash falling asleep with the TV or other light sources on . If nothing else , turning these off before you go to nap will carry through on electricity bills , and that should be enough to buoy anyone ’s spirits .
[ viaLiveScience ]
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