TNFα G308A genotype, resilience to sleep deprivation, and the effect of caffeine on psychomotor vigilance performance in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study

ABSTRACT

The TNFα G308A gene polymorphism has been reported to influence performance impairment during total sleep deprivation (TSD). We investigated this effect in a randomized, double-blind, crossover laboratory study of repeated exposure to 48 h TSD with caffeine administration at different doses. In a retrospective analysis, we replicated the finding that the A allele of TNFα G308A, found in 4 of 12 study participants, confers resilience to performance impairment during TSD. There was no evidence of an interaction of TNFα genotype with the beneficial effect of caffeine (200 or 300 mg) on performance during TSD, suggesting distinct underlying mechanisms.

KEYWORDS:

• Cognitive impairment
• psychomotor vigilance test (PVT)
• phenotype
• single nucleotide polymorphism
• caffeine gum
• dose response
• fatigue
• within-subjects design

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) for supporting the study, and the staff of the Sleep and Performance Research Center at Washington State University for their assistance in data collection.

Disclosure statement

This research was supported by Office of Naval Research grant N00014-15-1-0019. AJB, TJB, VFC and RHR are supported by the Department of Defense Military Operational Medicine Program. The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not represent the official policy or position of the Department of Defense.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Office of Naval Research [N00014-15-1-0019].