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An Integrated Model of Slow-Wave Activity and Neuroplasticity Impairments in Major Depressive Disorder

Current Psychiatry Reports volume 21, Article number: 30 (2019) Cite this article

Abstract

Purpose of Review

In this review, we aim to integrate the most recent research highlighting alterations in sleep slow-wave activity (SWA), and impairments in neuroplasticity in major depressive disorder (MDD) into a novel model of disorder maintenance.

Recent Findings

Sleep homeostasis has been shown to be impaired in MDD, with a subset of individuals also demonstrating impaired SWA. SWA is considered a marker of the homeostatic regulation of sleep, and is implicated in the downscaling of synaptic strength in the context of maintaining homeostatic plasticity. Individuals with MDD have been shown to exhibit impairments in both neural plasticity such as loss of dendritic branching, and synaptic plasticity such as decreased long-term potentiation-dependent learning and memory.

Summary

Alterations in the homeostatic regulation of sleep, SWA, and synaptic plasticity in MDD suggest an underlying impairment in the modulation of synaptic strength. One candidate mechanism for this impairment is AMPA receptor trafficking.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Elaine M. Boland for her generous contribution in the editing of this manuscript. The editors would like to thank Dr. Enrique Baca-Garcia for taking the time to review this manuscript.

Funding

Preparation of this article was supported by National Institute of Heart, Lung, and Blood Grant T32 HL007713 to Jennifer R. Goldschmied.

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  1. Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology, University of Pennsylvania, 125 S.31st St., Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Jennifer R. Goldschmied & Philip Gehrman

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  1. Jennifer R. Goldschmied
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  2. Philip Gehrman
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Correspondence to Jennifer R. Goldschmied.

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Jennifer R. Goldschmied declares no potential conflicts of interest.

Philip Gehrman is a section editor for Current Psychiatry Reports.

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Goldschmied, J.R., Gehrman, P. An Integrated Model of Slow-Wave Activity and Neuroplasticity Impairments in Major Depressive Disorder. Curr Psychiatry Rep 21, 30 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-019-1013-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-019-1013-4

Keywords

  • Slow-wave activity
  • Major depressive disorder
  • Synaptic downscaling
  • Synaptic strength
  • Sleep
  • Mood