School of Medicine
Chronobiology research - projects
We are conducting a range of different chronobiology projects in the Department of Anaesthesiology. Our primary interest is in understanding the interplay between the circadian clock and anaesthesia. Our basic chronobiology research focusses on the investigation of the control of circadian rhythms, and the similarities between sleep and anaesthesia using invertebrate and vertebrate models. Our applied research focuses on human circadian rhythms and sleep in the hospital environment, and the influence time of day has on drug action. The findings from our basic research underpin and direct our applied work in-hospital. If you are interested in being involved in our chronobiology research program please contact Associate Professor Guy Warman (g.warman@auckland.ac.nz) or Dr James Cheeseman (j.cheeseman@auckland.ac.nz)
- » The effect of general anaesthesia on clock gene expression in the brain
- » The effect of general anaesthesia on behavioural rhythms in mice
- » Quantifying the extent of sleep and circadian disruption in patients undergoing donor laparoscopic nephrectomy surgery and the efficacy of light in treating this disruption
- » Some highlights of previous work which have led to our current program of work are detailed below:
The effect of general anaesthesia on clock gene expression in the brain
This project, funded by a grant from the Office of Naval Research (USA) aims to examine the effect of general anaesthesia on the central circadian clock in the mammalian brain and on clocks in peripheral tissues. Using transgenic reporter technology it is possible to determine the direct effect of anaesthesia with different inhalational anaesthetic agents on the expression of core clock genes that drive daily rhythms in physiology and behaviour.
Associate Professor Guy Warman and Dr James Cheeseman are Primary Investigators on this project and Ms Nicola Ludin is a PhD student and research assistant on this work.
The effect of general anaesthesia on behavioural rhythms in mice
This project, funded by a grant from the Office of Naval Research (USA) aims to examine the time dependence of the effect of three different general anaesthetic agents (isoflurane, sevoflurane and desflurane) on behavioural rhythms in mice.
Associate Professor Guy Warman and Dr James Cheeseman are Primary Investigators on this project and Ms Alma Orts-Sebastian is a PhD student on this work.
Quantifying the extent of sleep and circadian disruption in patients undergoing donor laparoscopic nephrectomy surgery and the efficacy of light in treating this disruption
In this work we are using a unique patient population (kidney donor patients) to examine the effect of general anaesthesia, surgery and hospitalisation on sleep and circadian disruption and the potential efficacy of intra-operative light therapy in reducing post-operative sleep and circadian disruption.
Associate Professor Guy Warman and Dr James Cheeseman are Primary Investigators on this project. Ms Nicola Ludin is a PhD student on this work, Ms Diana Grieve is a research assistant/study coordinator, Mr Quirino Shin is a Bachelor of Medical Science (Honours) student and Ms Victoria King is a casual research assistant.
Some highlights of previous work which have led to our current program of work are detailed below:
From 2007-2010 we held a Royal Society of New Zealand Marsden Grant to conduct a research project entitled: “Does anaesthesia steal time?” in which we investigated the effect of general anaesthesia on time perception and the circadian clock using the honey bee as a model organism. This work led to two papers in PNAS. The first paper is important because it demonstrated for the first time that general affects time perception by shifting the circadian clock at a core molecular level.
Cheeseman, J.F., Winnebeck, E.C., Millar, C.D., Kirkland, L.S., Sleigh, J., Goodwin, M., Pawley, M.D.M., Bloch G., Lehmann, K., Menzel, R., and Warman, G.R. (2012) General anaesthesia alters time perception by phase shifting the circadian clock. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 109 (18): 7061-6.)
In the second we describe the use of anaesthesia as a tool to investigate different mechanisms of orientation used by honey bees and (for the first time) prove they use a cognitive map. This paper adds a great deal to the field of neuroscience and has led to some good debate
Cheeseman, J.F., Millar, C.D., Greggers, U., Lehmann, K., Pawley, M.D.M., Gallistel, C.R., Warman, G.R., and Menzel, R., (2014) Way-finding in displaced clock-shifted bees proves bees use a cognitive map Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 111 (24): 8949-54)
In 2004-2005 we held a Health Research Council of New Zealand Grant to conduct a research project entitled: “A survey of circadian-related sleep disorders in the NZ blind community”. This project led to a number of collaborations and publications including the main output from this grant
Warman, G.R., Pawley, M.D.M., Bolton, C., Cheeseman, J.F., Fernando III, A.T., Arendt, J., Wirz-Justice, A. Circadian-related sleep disorders and sleep medication use in the New Zealand blind population: an observational prevalence survey. PLosOne 6 (7) e22073
