Onset mechanism of psychiatric disorders related to the biological clock abnormalities and their treatment

这个研究项目小组的成立是为了弄清在与昼夜节律异常相关的疾病中，生物钟的哪些功能出了问题，以及对这些疾病有什么有效的治疗方法。动物实验研究。利用具有光周期的金仓鼠，证据表明它们对光周期的反应与它们暴露在光下的经历和它们的发育阶段有关。在老鼠身上，生活条件的改变肯定改变了它们的自由奔跑期。母亲松果体的昼夜节律通过褪黑激素传递给幼崽。光照较弱、光周期较短的大鼠昼夜节律的初相延迟，而光脉冲处理的大鼠昼夜节律的初相提前，可以作为季节性情感障碍的动物模型。人类的基础研究。通过对生活在隔离室内的志愿者进行的纵向观察他们的体温节律的实验，获得了人类对光的相位响应曲线的证据。在正常志愿者中，褪黑素分泌模式在不同光强度下的个体差异是明显的，东方人对光的敏感性通常低于白种人。在不能进食的重症患者中，间歇喂食的时间变化不仅改变了血糖和胰岛素水平的昼夜节律，而且改变了血浆中的皮质醇水平。这可能表明营养摄入时间表与昼夜节律密切相关。在严重脑损伤的儿童中，体温节律异常表明大脑中生物钟机制的定位。临床调查。对日本人群季节性情感障碍进行多中心合作调查。通过对大众媒体广告响应人群的调查，确定了46名疑似人员。分析抑郁发作与季节、临床特征的关系，并与其他人群的既往资料进行比较。日本人口的性别比很低，只有1:14 .4 （m:f）。研制了光疗设备并应用于这些患者，证明了光疗的效果。人们发现光疗对其他疾病如老年性痴呆和睡眠障碍也有效。抑郁症患者的深层体温节律受到不同程度的干扰。少

This research project team was organized to clarify what function of the biological clock is out of order in the diseases to which circadian rhythm abnormalities relate and what treatment would be effective for those disorders.1. Experimental research using animals. Using golden hamsters which have photoperiodism, evidence was established for their reactions to photoperiod are related to their experiences of having exposured to the light and their developmental stages. In rats changes in the living conditions had definitely alter their free-running period. Circadian rhyhtms of the pineal of the mother was transmitted to the pups by way of melatonin. Acrophase of the circadian rhythm delayed in rats kept in the dim light and shortened photoperiod, while it advanced by the treatment with photopulsations, thus these animals can be used as an animal model of the seasonal affective disorder.2. Basic research in humans. Evidence for the phase response curve to the light in humans was obtaine … More d by the experiments in which volunteers living in an isolation unit were observed their temperature rhythms longitudinally. Inter-individual difference in the melatonin secretion patterns to various light intensities was evident in the normal volunteers, and Orientals were commonly lower sensitivity to the light than Caucasians. Interval feeding in the severely ill patients unable to eat showed changes in the timing of feeding shifted the phase of their circadian rhythms of not only glucose and insulin levels but cortisol in plasma. This may suggest strong association of nutritional intake schedule with circadian rhythms. In children with severe brain damage had abnormalities of body temperature rhythm that suggests localization of the clock mechanism in the brain.3. Clinical Investigations. Multi-center collaborative survey was carried out for seasonal affective disorder in Japanese population. 46 suspected individuals were identified through investigation of population responded to mass media advertisemes. Relationship of onset of depressive episodes to the season, clinical features of this disorder were analyzed and comparison was made with previous data in other populations. Many similarities were noticed while sex ratio in Japanese population was rather low as 1:1.4 (m:f). Equipments for phototherapy were deviced and applied to these patients and proved to have efficacy. Phototherapy was found to be effective to other disorders such as senile dementias and sleep disorders. Deep body temperature rhythms were variablly disturbed in depression. Less