Importance of the cross-talk between molecular and brain activity in central/mental fatigue of children

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K21004
• Project/Area Number (Other): 18H05812 (2018)
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund (2019); Single-year Grants (2018)
• Review Section: 0110:Psychology and related fields
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: Yamashita Masatoshi 京都大学, 総合生存学館, 特定研究員 (50828928)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-08-24 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 不登校 / 中枢性疲労 / 睡眠欠乏 / 神経代謝物質 / 脳機能

Outline of Final Research Achievements

An epidemiological study reported that many students suffer from central fatigue and sleep deprivation. Under these conditions, concentration and intelligence are reduced. The present study investigated fatigue level, sleep conditions, urinary neuroactive metabolites, and brain structure, by comparing school refusal children and healthy children. Psychological results indicated that although school refusal children may sleep eight hours, they have lower sleep quality and a later sleep midpoint compared with healthy children. Moreover, school refusal children showed increased central fatigue and decreased processing speed. This result indicates that the sleep phase in school refusers is shifted to the daytime, and potential insufficient sleep is aggravated by night owl tendencies. In addition, monoamine imbalance may be associated with neurobehavioral impairment in school refusers. At present, we are investigating associations between amino acids and brain functions in schoolchildren.

Free Research Field

実験心理学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

不登校は怠けと誤解されることが多いが、紛れもなくジェットラグのような睡眠異常と易疲労性が存在し、それが就学の困難にも繋がっていると推測する。本研究成果による不登校生徒の行動・分子・神経機能の関係性は、その病理的理解に繋がり、臨床心理学や発達心理学、認知神経科学の研究分野にも大きな示唆を与えるものとなる。その点で、基礎的・科学的な知見と社会問題の距離を有機的に結びつけることができる。そして、不登校の根本的理解と疲労し易い病理的理解を把握した上で、教育指導に繋げるための基礎的・科学的知見を提供できると考えられる。