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World J Psychiatr. Nov 19, 2021; 11(11): 954-980
Published online Nov 19, 2021. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v11.i11.954
G-protein coupled receptors and synaptic plasticity in sleep deprivation
Shweta Parmar, Ramakrishna Tadavarty, Bhagavatula R Sastry
Shweta Parmar, Ramakrishna Tadavarty, Bhagavatula R Sastry, Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver V6T 1Z3, British Columbia, Canada
Author contributions: Parmar S, Tadavarty R and Sastry BR contributed equally to the outline of this review; Parmar S performed 85% of the writing work, and Tadavarty R performed 15%; Illustrations were done by Parmar S; Suggestions and corrections were contributed by Sastry BR; All authors have read and approved the manuscript.
Supported by Canadian Institutes of Health Research Grant, No. TGS-109219; and 4-Year Fellowship from the University of British Columbia.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Authors have nothing to disclose.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Bhagavatula R Sastry, PhD, Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, The University of British Columbia, 2176 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver V6T 1Z3, British Columbia, Canada. sastry@interchange.ubc.ca
Received: February 25, 2021
Peer-review started: February 25, 2021
First decision: May 13, 2021
Revised: June 5, 2021
Accepted: September 19, 2021
Article in press: September 19, 2021
Published online: November 19, 2021
Processing time: 264 Days and 4.8 Hours
Abstract

Insufficient sleep has been correlated to many physiological and psychoneurological disorders. Over the years, our understanding of the state of sleep has transcended from an inactive period of rest to a more active state involving important cellular and molecular processes. In addition, during sleep, electrophysiological changes also occur in pathways in specific regions of the mammalian central nervous system (CNS). Activity mediated synaptic plasticity in the CNS can lead to long-term and sometimes permanent strengthening and/or weakening synaptic strength affecting neuronal network behaviour. Memory consolidation and learning that take place during sleep cycles, can be affected by changes in synaptic plasticity during sleep disturbances. G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), with their versatile structural and functional attributes, can regulate synaptic plasticity in CNS and hence, may be potentially affected in sleep deprived conditions. In this review, we aim to discuss important functional changes that can take place in the CNS during sleep and sleep deprivation and how changes in GPCRs can lead to potential problems with therapeutics with pharmacological interventions.

Keywords: G-protein coupled receptors; Metabotropic glutamate receptors; Gamma-amino butyric acid-B receptor; Synaptic plasticity; Sleep deprivation; Memory consolidation

Core Tip: Sleep hygiene is thought to be necessary for memory consolidation and learning while sleep disturbances can alter both synaptic plasticity and memory consolidation. Recent findings indicate that the expression of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) like metabotropic glutamate receptors, gamma-amino butyric acid-B receptors and serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) receptors as well as synaptic plasticity are altered following a short episode of sleep deprivation. GPCRs are involved in a variety of central nervous system functions and are targets for therapeutic agents in psychiatry and other neurological disorders. Therefore, a deeper understanding of these receptors in association with the state of sleep and its related functions and disorders is needed.