Why do we often lose the feeling of time?

When a person becomes ill, his or her time perception is misleading. A study by biologist Seth Blackshaw of Johns Hopkins University helped find the cause of this phenomenon.

When sick, high body temperature causes certain brain cells to stop working . These are the cells that allow orientation in time , helping people determine the day or night. Cells and so-called "watchdogs" of those brain cells are affected by light and heat. If everything is clear to the light (ie at night when the darkness is over, the body wants to sleep) then the concept of temperature is more ambiguous.

When sick, high body temperature causes certain brain cells to stop working.

Thus, the activity of cells and compounds secreted by them depends on the time of day. Scientists have discovered the LHX1 gene that controls the activity of nerve cells and develops gene therapy technology, separating the gene from the "watchdog" above.

The elimination of LHX1 caused the experimental mice to lose their sense of time, and their sleep-wake cycle became chaotic. At the same time there was an abnormal reaction to the increase or decrease of body temperature. A significant increase or decrease in temperature causes disturbance of the sleep-wake cycle . This is the reason why when the illness, fever and high temperature make the clock circadian clock, making people lose the feeling of day and night.

This study is published in Current Biology and creates many opportunities. Impacting LHX1 gene (such as gene blockade) and "monitoring" of brain cells not only help cure chronic insomnia, but also help to deal with jet lag - fatigue occurs after a long flight through many latitudes from east to west or from west to east. Biologists believe that temporarily blocking the LHX1 gene after a flight to another time zone allows for faster adaptation to life under new conditions.