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The association of mood and anxiety disorders with circadian disturbances is well known. To learn more about mechanisms and possible treatments, investigators used a novel wireless telemetry system in mice.
Animals were presented with chronic (10 days) social defeat stress (CSDS), in which they confronted a dominant animal from a different strain, which is known to produce behavioral changes analogous to human depression and anxiety. Compared with nonexposed controls, CSDS animals developed disruption of circadian rhythms of motor activity and body temperature, fragmented sleep, and increased intensity and decreased latency of an animal model of rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep. These changes were associated with induction of a gene (mPer2) in…