Disrupted sleep and body clocks are being overlooked as a treatable cause of severe mental illness, not just a symptom. Researchers at Oxford are building a virtual institute to change that. Sleep and circadian rhythm disruption is common in psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, but psychiatry rarely treats it as a driver of illness. Emerging evidence suggests it may contribute to the onset of psychosis, worsen physical health, and offer a new route for intervention. The team will test whether shared biological pathways link circadian disruption and psychosis, using both lab studies and patient research. If successful, this work could shift clinical practice: sleep-based treatments might become a standard part of psychiatric care, improving both mental and physical health outcomes. The institute will also develop wearable devices for home-based sleep monitoring, making it practical for routine use. Training materials will help psychiatrists recognise and address sleep disruption. The project is translational—it aims directly at changing how patients are treated, not at fundamental discovery alone.
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Sleep and circadian rhythm disruption (SCRD) is a clinically important feature of severe neuropsychiatric disorders, but it is rarely viewed as pathophysiologically significant, nor are its consequences appreciated or its treatment prioritised. However, emerging data challenge these assumptions, with increasing evidence that SCRD is important in illness onset, overall physical health and as a therapeutic target. Developments in circadian neuroscience now permit a meaningful scientific investigat ion of these important but neglected issues. Building upon our recent findings, and a unique breadth of expertise and shared interest, we propose to bring together molecular and systems neuroscientists, psychiatrists, psychologists, and bioengineers, to form a virtual Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute (SCNi). We aim to: 1) Understand the causal relationships between SCRD and the psychoses, testing the hypothesis that pathways common to both account for the comorbidity, using preclin ical and clinical approaches. 2) Develop evidence-based interventions that correct SCRD and improve health. 3) Provide training and teaching materials in sleep/circadian neuroscience for psychiatry. 4) Disseminate research knowledge and treatment packages using web-based platforms. 5) Develop novel telemetric devices for home-based measurements of sleep and circadian physiology. SCNi will be truly multidisciplinary and translational, and will achieve these goals through five i nterlinked themes, described in Q10.
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