sleep science

Three prizes were awarded to six researchers working across the life sciences on cellular organization, protein structure, and the genetic underpinnings of a chronic sleep disorder.

By linking blood flow patterns to bioelectric signals in the brains of sleeping volunteers, scientists are studying the order in which brain regions fall asleep and wake up.

Rechtschaffen sought to understand the evolutionary purpose of shut-eye.

Buildup of a DNA-repair protein in brain cells spurs shut-eye in the fish, a study finds, and similar results in mice suggest the mechanism is widespread in animals.

He famously contradicted Sigmund Freud’s views on the meaning of dreams.

Dreamers answered experimenters’ questions or solved simple math problems, showing that complex two-way communication between the dreaming and waking world is possible.

Researchers are experimenting with a variety of tools, from brain stimulation to audiovisual equipment, to try to take control of the sleeping brain.

Meet some of the people featured in the December 2020 issue of The Scientist.

In mice, the brain’s main glial cell type exhibits distinctive patterns of activity across the sleep-wake cycle and influences the response to sleep deprivation.

During deep sleep, rhythmic pulses of cerebrospinal fluid are coupled with slow waves of electrical activity and fluctuating blood levels in the human brain.

Neurons can only efficiently fix genetic injuries when the animals are asleep.

Sleeping on a rhythmically swaying surface helps synchronize sleep oscillations in the human brain, a study finds.

People who have suffered traumatic brain injury had slower reaction times and more false starts after disrupted sleep than healthy controls, according to a study presented at the Society for Neuroscience meeting.

Two studies identify a signaling pathway that contributes to the fish’s sleeplessness.

By examining brainwave patterns in a posterior cortical area, scientists can predict when people are dreaming.

Great frigatebirds can sleep while flying, researchers report.

People continue to hear and process words during light non-REM sleep, a study shows.

Autonomic nervous system activity during sleep may help explain variation in the extent to which the behavior aids memory consolidation, a study shows.

The first night people sleep in a new place, one of their brain hemispheres remains somewhat alert, a study shows.