title: Frontier studies on fatigue, autonomic nerve dysfunction, and sleep-rhythm disorder.
abstract: Fatigue is defined as a condition or phenomenon of decreased ability and efficiency of mental and/or physical activities, caused by excessive mental or physical activities, diseases, or syndromes. It is often accompanied by a peculiar sense of discomfort, a desire to rest, and reduced motivation, referred to as fatigue sensation. Acute fatigue is a normal condition or phenomenon that disappears after a period of rest; in contrast, chronic fatigue, lasting at least 6 months, does not disappear after ordinary rest. Chronic fatigue impairs activities and contributes to various medical conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, epileptic seizures, and death. In addition, many people complain of chronic fatigue. For example, in Japan, more than one third of the general adult population complains of chronic fatigue. It would thus be of great value to clarify the mechanisms underlying chronic fatigue and to develop efficient treatment methods to overcome it. Here, we review data primarily from behavioral, electrophysiological, and neuroimaging experiments related to neural dysfunction as well as autonomic nervous system, sleep, and circadian rhythm disorders in fatigue. These data provide new perspectives on the mechanisms underlying chronic fatigue and on overcoming it.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-4-3 Asahimachi, Abeno-ku, Osaka, 545-8585, Japan. masa-t@msic.med.osaka-cu.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Masaaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.affiliation: Hyogo Children's Sleep and Development Medical Research Center, Hyogo Rehabilitation Centre, Central Hospital 1070 Akebono-cho, Nishi-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 651-2181, Japan.
authors.forename: Seiki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tajima
authors.affiliation: RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan.
authors.forename: Kei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mizuno
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-4-3 Asahimachi, Abeno-ku, Osaka, 545-8585, Japan.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ishii
authors.affiliation: Hyogo Children's Sleep and Development Medical Research Center, Hyogo Rehabilitation Centre, Central Hospital 1070 Akebono-cho, Nishi-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 651-2181, Japan.
authors.forename: Yukuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Konishi
authors.affiliation: Hyogo Children's Sleep and Development Medical Research Center, Hyogo Rehabilitation Centre, Central Hospital 1070 Akebono-cho, Nishi-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 651-2181, Japan.
authors.forename: Teruhisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Miike
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-4-3 Asahimachi, Abeno-ku, Osaka, 545-8585, Japan. yywata@riken.jp.|RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan. yywata@riken.jp.
authors.forename: Yasuyoshi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Watanabe
mesh_terms: D001342:Autonomic Nervous System Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D015673:Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D059906:Neuroimaging; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000473:pathology*
keywords: Autonomic nervous system; Central nervous system; Circadian rhythm; Fatigue; Sleep