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This version of NSU News has been archived as of February 28, 2019. To search through archived articles, visit nova.edu/search. To access the new version of NSU News, visit news.nova.edu.
This version of SharkBytes has been archived as of February 28, 2019. To search through archived articles, visit nova.edu/search. To access the new version of SharkBytes, visit sharkbytes.nova.edu.
NSU Research Spotlight: NSU Faculty and Alumnae Publish Sleep Research Findings in the Journal of Circadian Rhythms
Tatiana Viena, alumnae from the college’s M.S. in Experimental Psychology
Faculty and alumnae from NSU’s College of Psychology have published an article, “A PER3 Polymorphism Interacts with Sleep Duration to Influence Transient Mood States in Women,” in the Journal of Circadian Rhythms.
Tatiana Viena and Christina Gobin, alumnae from the college’s M.S. in Experimental Psychology program, are the article’s lead authors. Viena is currently in a Ph.D. program at Florida Atlantic University, and Gobin is in a Ph.D. program at the University of Florida.
The article’s co-authors include college faculty members Jaime Tartar, Ph.D., associate professor, behavioral neuroscience program director, and research director; Ana Fins, Ph.D., associate professor; and Travis Craddock, Ph.D., assistant professor. Aurelien Tartar, Ph.D., associate professor at the Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography, also is a co-author.
The article shows how sleeping less than six hours a day, combined with having a variation in one of the genes that helps regulate the body’s internal clock (the PER3 gene), can serve as a risk factor for mood impairments.
“Our research develops these findings by suggesting that individuals with a specific PER3 gene variant might be more susceptible to the psychological consequences of sleep loss,” Jaime Tartar said.
Previous research has shown that not getting enough sleep is associated with poor psychological health consequences.
The research supporting the article was funded by an NSU President’s Faculty Research and Development Grant awarded in 2015.