The hypothalamus, a peanut-sized structure deep inside the brain, contains groups of nerve cells that act as control centers affecting sleep and arousal.
Full Answer
In an important new study, neuroscientists at the Department of BioMedical Research (DBMR) at the University of Bern and the Department of Neurology at Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, found that neurons in the thalamus, a central hub of the brain, control sleep as well as wakefulness.
How brain circuits control this sleep -wake cycle remains a mystery. Our sleep is divided into two phases, non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, and REM (or paradoxical) sleep during which most of our dreaming occurs.
With normal breathing, a neural center in the forebrain (cerebrum) produces a rhythmic breathing pattern. When consciousness decreases, lower brainstem centers regulate the breathing pattern by responding only to changes in PaCO2 levels.
Except for the spinal cord, the brain's lower-level structures are largely located within the hindbrain, diencephalon (or interbrain), and midbrain. The hindbrain consists of the medulla oblongata, the pons, and the cerebellum, which control respiration and movement among other functions.
The brain stem, at the base of the brain, communicates with the hypothalamus to control the transitions between wake and sleep. (The brain stem includes structures called the pons, medulla, and midbrain.)
The human body cycles through two phases of sleep, (1) rapid eye movement (REM) and (2) non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, which is further divided into three stages, N1-N3.
Scientists agree that sleep is essential to health, and while stages 1 to 4 and REM sleep are all important, deep sleep is the most essential of all for feeling rested and staying healthy. The average healthy adult gets roughly 1 to 2 hours of deep sleep per 8 hours of nightly sleep.
n. a circadian state characterized by partial or total suspension of consciousness, voluntary muscle inhibition, and relative insensitivity to stimulation. Other characteristics include unique sleep-related electroencephalogram and brain-imaging patterns (see sleep stages).
Stage 3 sleep is also known as deep sleep, and it is harder to wake someone up if they are in this phase. Muscle tone, pulse, and breathing rate decrease in N3 sleep as the body relaxes even further. The brain activity during this period has an identifiable pattern of what are known as delta waves.
In the deepest level of sleep, stage IV sleep, the predominant EEG activity consists of low frequency (1–4 Hz), high-amplitude fluctuations called delta waves, the characteristic slow waves for which this phase of sleep is named. The entire sequence from drowsiness to deep stage IV sleep usually takes about an hour.
Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, or stage R, usually starts about 90 minutes after you fall asleep. Brain activity increases, your eyes dart around quickly, and your pulse, blood pressure, and breathing speed up. This is also when you do most of your dreaming. REM sleep is important for learning and memory.
Deep sleep, also called slow-wave sleep5, occurs in the third stage of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. During deep sleep, electrical activity in the brain appears in long, slow waves called delta waves6.
In REM sleep — stage 4 in the sleep cycle — the brain processes and synthesizes memories and emotions, activity that is crucial for learning and higher-level thought. A lack of REM sleep results in slower cognitive and social processing, problems with memory, and difficulty concentrating.
Healthy sleep also helps the body remain healthy and stave off diseases. Without enough sleep, the brain cannot function properly. This can impair your abilities2 to concentrate, think clearly, and process memories. Most adults require between seven and nine hours3 of nightly sleep.
Delta wavesDelta waves are associated with the deep sleep stages: stage 3 and REM. During stage 3, less than half of brain waves consist of delta waves, while more than half of brain activity consists of delta waves during REM sleep.
Which of the following most accurately describes the brain during sleep? b. The brain remains active and emits brain waves.
Arguably from time immemorial to the nineteenth century, the dominant pattern of sleep in Western societies was biphasic, whereby most preindustrial households retired between 9 and 10pm, slept for 3 to 3 ½ hours during their “first sleep,” awakened after midnight for an hour or so, during which individuals did ...
Sleep has two phases, REM and NREM (non-rem).
An extended siesta of 90 minutes allows a person to have one complete cycle of sleep. Some say that biphasic sleep is a healthier sleep pattern than a monophasic pattern, and some countries have adopted a biphasic sleep pattern as the normal one.
There are four total stages of sleep, divided into two phases:Non-REM sleep happens first and includes three stages. The last two stage of non-REM sleep is when you sleep deeply. ... REM sleep happens about an hour to an hour and a half after falling asleep. REM sleep is when you tend to have vivid dreams.
Occipital lobe. ANS: C. The prefrontal area is responsible for goal-oriented behavior (i.e., ability to concentrate), short-term or recall memory, and the elaboration of thought and inhibition on the limbic (emotional) areas of the CNS.
Hypothalamic function falls into two major areas: (1) maintenance of a constant internal environment, and (2) implementation of behavioral patterns. The remaining options do not address these functions.
ANS: A. The sleep pattern of the older adult differs from the younger adult in that total sleep time is decreased, and the older individual takes longer to initiate and maintain sleep. Older adults tend to go to sleep earlier in the evening and awaken more frequently during the night and earlier in the morning.
The nuclei of cranial nerves IX through XII (see Table 15-6 for discussion) are located only in the medulla oblongata.
Peripheral nerve pathways can be afferent (ascending) pathways that carry sensory impulses toward the CNS. The remaining options do not carry sensory information to the CNS.
Most postganglionic sympathetic fibers release norepinephrine (adrenaline). The remaining options do not reflect the correct site of norepinephrine secretion.
Start studying Chapter 16, Neuro and Pain. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.
The cognitive-evaluative system overlies the individual's learned behavior concerning the experience of pain and can modulate the perception of pain and is mediated only through the cerebral cortex.
Although the organization of all of the ascending tracts is complex, the principal target for nociceptive afferents is the thalamus, which, in general, is the major relay station of sensory information. The remaining options do not fulfill this objective.
REM sleep accounts for 20% to 25% of sleep time and is characterized by desynchronized, low-voltage, fast activity that occurs for 5 to 60 minutes approximately every 90 minutes, beginning after 1 to 2 hours of non-REM sleep.
The synaptic connections between the cells of the primary- and secondary-order neurons located in the substantia gelatinosa and other Rexed laminae function as a pain gate. The remaining options do not act in this function.
Only the gate control theory (GCT) explains that a balance of impulses conducted to the spinal cord, where cells in the substantia gelatinosa function as a spinal gate, regulates pain transmission to higher centers in the CNS.
The cell bodies of the primary-order neurons, or pain-transmitting neurons, reside only in the dorsal root ganglia just lateral to the spine along the sensory pathways that penetrate the posterior part of the cord.
In an important new study, neuroscientists at the Department of BioMedical Research (DBMR) at the University of Bern and the Department of Neurology at Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, found that neurons in the thalamus, a central hub of the brain, control sleep as well as wakefulness. The thalamus is connected to almost all other brain areas ...
A single control center for sleep and wake in the brain. Until now, it was thought that multiple brain areas were needed to control sleep and wakefulness. Neuroscientists from Bern have now identified one single control center for the sleep-wake cycle in the brain. The findings are of great importance for finding new sleep therapies.
The research group used a technique called optogenetics, with which they used light pulses to precisely control the activity of thalamic neurons of mice. When they activated thalamic neurons with regular long-lasting stimuli the animals woke up, but if they activated them in a slow rhythmical manner, the mice had a deeper, more restful sleep. ...
Important brain circuits have been identified using both experimental and clinical evidence, yet the precise underlying mechanisms, such as the onset, maintenance and termination of sleep and dreaming, is not well understood.
Every night we spend several hours asleep and every morning we awaken to go about our lives. How brain circuits control this sleep -wake cycle remains a mystery. Our sleep is divided into two phases, non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, and REM (or paradoxical) sleep during which most of our dreaming occurs. Important brain circuits have been identified using both experimental and clinical evidence, yet the precise underlying mechanisms, such as the onset, maintenance and termination of sleep and dreaming, is not well understood.
The findings of this study are particularly important in a modern world, where the active population sleeps about 20 percent less than 50 years ago and suffers from chronic sleep disturbances. People frequently work irregular hours and rarely catch up on lost sleep.
In contrast, wakefulness was thought to arise from the activity of "wake centers" located in the lower part of the brain including the brainstem that directly activates the neocortex, which is the part of the mammalian brain involved in higher-order brain functions such as sensory perception, cognition and generation of motor commands.
Until now, it was thought that multiple brain areas were needed to control sleep and wakefulness. Neuroscientists from Bern have now identified one single control center for the sleep-wake cycle in the brain. The findings are of great importance for finding new sleep therapies.
Every night we spend several hours asleep and every morning we awaken to go about our lives. How brain circuits control this sleep-wake cycle remains a mystery. Our sleep is divided into two phases, non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, and REM (or paradoxical) sleep during which most of our dreaming occurs. Important brain circuits have been identified using both experimental and clinical evidence, yet the precise underlying mechanisms, such as the onset, maintenance and termination of sleep and dreaming, is not well understood.
Using a technique called optogenetics, the thalamic neurons in the brain can be controlled with light pulses. Depending on the type of pulse, activation of thalamic neurons induce either sleep or wakefulness, indicative of a midline thalamus sleep-wake hub. © Pascal Gugler for Insel Gruppe AG
Antoine Adamantidis discovered that a small population of these thalamic neurons have a dual control over sleep and wakefulness, by generating sleep slow waves but also waking up from sleep, depending on their electrical activity. The research group used a technique called optogenetics, with which they used light pulses to precisely control the activity of thalamic neurons of mice. When they activated thalamic neurons with regular long-lasting stimuli the animals woke up, but if they activated them in a slow rhythmical manner, the mice had a deeper, more restful sleep.
In an important new study, neuroscientists at the Department of BioMedical Research (DBMR) at the University of Bern and the Department of Neurology at Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, found that neurons in the thalamus, a central hub of the brain, control sleep as well as wakefulness. The thalamus is connected to almost all other brain areas and supports important brain functions including attention, sensory perception, cognition and consciousness.
Important brain circuits have been identified using both experimental and clinical evidence, yet the precise underlying mechanisms, such as the onset, maintenance and termination of sleep and dreaming, is not well understood.
When we fall asleep, the electroencephalogram (EEG) reveals that our brains generate rhythmic oscillations called "slow waves". These waves are important for keeping us asleep and for recovering after a full day of mental and physical activity. Common hypotheses hold that these slow waves are produced in the cerebral cortex, the upper part of the brain just below the surface of the skull. In contrast, wakefulness was thought to arise from the activity of "wake centers" located in the lower part of the brain including the brainstem that directly activates the neocortex, which is the part of the mammalian brain involved in higher-order brain functions such as sensory perception, cognition and generation of motor commands.
Occipital lobe. ANS: C. The prefrontal area is responsible for goal-oriented behavior (i.e., ability to concentrate), short-term or recall memory, and the elaboration of thought and inhibition on the limbic (emotional) areas of the CNS.
Hypothalamic function falls into two major areas: (1) maintenance of a constant internal environment, and (2) implementation of behavioral patterns. The remaining options do not address these functions.
ANS: A. The sleep pattern of the older adult differs from the younger adult in that total sleep time is decreased, and the older individual takes longer to initiate and maintain sleep. Older adults tend to go to sleep earlier in the evening and awaken more frequently during the night and earlier in the morning.
The nuclei of cranial nerves IX through XII (see Table 15-6 for discussion) are located only in the medulla oblongata.
Peripheral nerve pathways can be afferent (ascending) pathways that carry sensory impulses toward the CNS. The remaining options do not carry sensory information to the CNS.
Most postganglionic sympathetic fibers release norepinephrine (adrenaline). The remaining options do not reflect the correct site of norepinephrine secretion.