DSIP

In plain terms

DSIP stands for Delta Sleep-Inducing Peptide, named after the brain-wave pattern observed when it was isolated in 1977. Research has examined it in relation to sleep architecture and stress-hormone response, primarily in animal studies.

Research overview

DSIP is a naturally occurring, neuromodulatory nonapeptide. Preclinical laboratory studies have investigated its potential effects on regulating circadian rhythms, promoting slow-wave (delta) sleep architecture, and mitigating physiological stress responses in animal models.

What has been studied

1. 1

   Named for what it was found doing

   Delta sleep-inducing peptide was isolated from the blood of rabbits in slow-wave sleep, and named for the delta-wave activity that defines that sleep stage.

2. 2

   Sleep architecture

   Animal studies have measured the proportion of time spent in each sleep stage rather than total sleep alone.

3. 3

   Stress hormone research

   Some work has looked at its effect on cortisol and other stress-response markers.

4. 4

   An unsettled literature

   Findings across studies have been inconsistent, which is itself a documented feature of the DSIP research and worth knowing before designing around it.

Research articles

• Estrogen-concentrating neurophysin-containing hypothalamic magnocellular neurons in the vasopressin-deficient (Brattleboro) rat: a study combining steroid autoradiography and immunocytochemistryThe Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 1982
• Synaptic transmission of excitation from the retina to cells in the pigeon's optic tectumBrain research · 1986
• Reversible cross-linking of alpha 2-plasmin inhibitor to fibrinogen by fibrin-stabilizing factorBiochimica et biophysica acta · 1982