title: Modeling the effect of exogenous melatonin on the sleep-wake switch.
abstract: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, insufficient sleep has become a public health epidemic. Approximately 50-70 million adults (20 years or older) suffer from some disorder of sleep and wakefulness, hindering daily functioning and adversely affecting health and longevity.  Melatonin, a naturally produced hormone which plays a role in sleep-wake regulation, is currently offered as an over-the-counter sleep aid. However, the effects of melatonin on the sleep-wake cycle are incompletely understood.  The goal of this modeling study was to incorporate the effects of exogenous melatonin administration into a mathematical model of the human sleep-wake switch.  The model developed herein adds a simple kinetic model of the MT1 melatonin receptor to an existing model which simulates the interactions of different neuronal groups thought to be involved in sleep-wake regulation.  Preliminary results were obtained by simulating the effects of an exogenous melatonin dose typical of over-the-counter sleep aids.  The model predicted an increase in homeostatic sleep drive and a resulting alteration in circadian rhythm consistent with experimental results.  The time of melatonin administration was also observed to have a strong influence on the sleep-wake effects elicited, which is also consistent with prior experimental findings.
authors: Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences.
authors: Nicholas
authors: N
authors: Johnson
authors: Gauray
authors: G
authors: Jain
authors: Lianne
authors: L
authors: Sandberg
authors: Kevin
authors: K
authors: Sheets