Functional associations between biological clock systems and sleep homeostasis

在昼夜节律睡眠障碍，自由奔跑型(FRT)中，漂移睡眠模式的病理生理学机制知之甚少。这是第一份使用7天、28小时强制去同步化方案，成功检测到视力障碍患者的昼夜节律周期(τ)延长的报告，与正常睡眠习惯的对照组相比。由于在夜猫子中也观察到了τ延长的现象，因此，τ的异常并不能解释其病理生理机制，从而提示其具有多层次性。

Little is known about the pathophysiology of drifting sleep patterns in circadian rhythm sleep disorder, free-running type (FRT). This is the first report that successfully detected a prolonged circadian rhythm period (τ) in sighted patients with FRT compared to controls with normal sleep habits using a 7-day, 28-h forced desynchrony protocol. As the prolonged τ was also observed in a subset of night owl people, the pathophysiology of FRT is not only explained by the abnormal τ, thus pointing out the multilayered nature of FRT.