“Our data show that perturbing circadian rhythms in otherwise totally undisturbed animals is enough to cause behaviors similar to human depression,” commented first author Dr. Dominic Landgraf of the University of California, San Diego.
Dominic Landgraf et al. Genetic Disruption of Circadian Rhythms in the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus Causes Helplessness, Behavioral Despair, and Anxiety-like Behavior in Mice, Biological Psychiatry(2016). DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2016.03.1050