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.
Dreamers answered experimenters’ questions or solved simple math problems, showing that complex two-way communication between the dreaming and waking world is possible.
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.
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.
Autonomic nervous system activity during sleep may help explain variation in the extent to which the behavior aids memory consolidation, a study shows.