Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41890090›Full record

ArticlebioRxiv : the preprint server for biology2026

Sleep deprivation impairs information processing via dysregulation of chloride homeostasis in the prefrontal cortex.

Roberto Frau, Luca Concas, Giulia Braccagni, Francesco Traccis, Caterina Branca, Sara Salviati, Valeria Serra, Eleonora Corridori, Gabriele Nardi, Giacomo Pasquini and 9 more

Abstract readPreprint
In one paragraph

Article in bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

19 authors.

Roberto FrauDepartment of Biomedical Sciences University of Cagliari, Monserrato, 09042 Cagliari, Italy.
Luca ConcasDepartment of Biomedical Sciences University of Cagliari, Monserrato, 09042 Cagliari, Italy.
Giulia BraccagniDepartment of Molecular and Developmental Medicine, University of Siena, Siena, Italy.
Francesco TraccisDepartment of Biomedical Sciences University of Cagliari, Monserrato, 09042 Cagliari, Italy.
Caterina BrancaDepartment of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
Sara SalviatiDepartment of Molecular and Developmental Medicine, University of Siena, Siena, Italy.
Valeria SerraDepartment of Biomedical Sciences University of Cagliari, Monserrato, 09042 Cagliari, Italy.
Eleonora CorridoriDepartment of Molecular and Developmental Medicine, University of Siena, Siena, Italy.
Gabriele NardiInstitute of Biophysics - CNR, Pisa, Italy.
Giacomo PasquiniInstitute of Biophysics - CNR, Pisa, Italy.
Silvia LandiInstitute of Neuroscience CNR, Pisa, Italy.
Michele SantoniDepartment of Biomedical Sciences University of Cagliari, Monserrato, 09042 Cagliari, Italy.
Paolo FollesaDepartment of Life and Environmental Sciences, Section of Neuroscience and Anthropology, University of Cagliari, Italy.
Federico BrandaliseDepartment of Biomedical Sciences University of Cagliari, Monserrato, 09042 Cagliari, Italy.
Monica PulighedduSleep Disorders Center, Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health; University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
Miriam MelisDepartment of Biomedical Sciences University of Cagliari, Monserrato, 09042 Cagliari, Italy.ORCID 0000-0001-9631-8651
Gian Michele RattoInstitute of Biophysics - CNR, Pisa, Italy.
Simona ScheggiDepartment of Molecular and Developmental Medicine, University of Siena, Siena, Italy.
Marco BortolatoDepartment of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.

Funding

Deciphering gene-environment interactions in pathological reactive aggressionR01MH104603 · NIMH · UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH · PI Marco Bortolato, Regina A. Mangieri · 2014 to 2026
$6.0M
Disentangling the biological links between violence and alcohol useR01AA030256 · NIAAA · UNIVERSITY OF UTAH · PI Marco Bortolato, Regina A. Mangieri · 2023 to 2026
$2.2M
Mechanisms of information-processing and executive deficits caused by sleep deprivationR56MH130006 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF UTAH · PI BORTOLATO, MARCO · 2023 to 2023
$511k
NIAAA NIH HHS R01 AA030256NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH104603NIMH NIH HHS R56 MH130006
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Sleep deprivation (SD) impairs information processing through alterations of prefrontal cortex (PFC) function, yet the molecular underpinnings of this process remain poorly understood. We previously showed that SD disrupts sensorimotor gating by elevating prefrontal levels of the neurosteroid allopregnanolone (AP), a positive allosteric modulator of GABA-A receptors. Here we identify a complementary, mechanistically independent process whereby SD alters GABA-A currents in the PFC of mice and rats. SD reduced membrane expression of the chloride exporter KCC2, leading to intracellular chloride accumulation and a depolarizing shift in GABA-A receptor reversal potential that weakened GABAergic inhibition. Pharmacological normalization of chloride homeostasis with bumetanide fully rescued SD-induced deficits in sensorimotor gating and information encoding. SD also upregulated BDNF, and intra-PFC antagonism of its receptor TrkB restored KCC2 expression and normalized information processing, identifying BDNF-TrkB signaling as an upstream driver of chloride dysregulation. Notably, blocking AP synthesis rescued behavioral deficits without correcting chloride imbalance, confirming mechanistic independence. Finally, combined administration of AP and a KCC2 blocker produced information-processing deficits akin to those induced by SD. These findings identify TrkB-dependent disruption of prefrontal chloride homeostasis as a druggable mechanism underlying sleep loss-induced cognitive dysfunction.

Indexed as

AllopregnanoloneChloride homeostasisGABA-A receptorsSensorimotor gatingSleep deprivation

Identifiers

PMID41890090
PMCPMC13015519

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.