Sleep News and Research

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Sleep is a physiological behavior that is common in all animal species. It forms around one third of a human life. It is not known clearly the exact functions of sleep but it seems to be essential for survival as prolonged sleep deprivation leads to severe physical impairment followed by cognitive loss and eventually death.

Pain-Triggered Oxytocin in the Brain Leads Mice to Shun Bullies

Mice, like humans, fight for mates and territory, form intricate social groups, and learn when it is safer to stay away from particular opponents.

25 Jan 2024

Teneurin-3: Protein That Helps for Circadian Rhythm Stability in Mice

Researchers from the National Institutes of Health and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have discovered a protein in mice’s visual systems that seems to be essential for regulating the body’s circadian rhythms by reducing the brain’s sensitivity to light.

29 Dec 2023

Breathing Patterns Linked to Memory Consolidation During Sleep

How are memories consolidated during sleep? In 2021, researchers led by Dr. Thomas Schreiner, leader of the Emmy Noether junior research group at LMU's Department of Psychology, had already shown there was a direct relationship between the emergence of certain sleep-related brain activity patterns and the reactivation of memory contents during sleep.

19 Dec 2023

Unveiling ppGpp’s Surprising Role in Fruit Fly Sleep

Sleep, a fundamental behavior observed across various organisms, ranging from worms to humans, is influenced by both internal sleep drive and external environmental factors.

12 Dec 2023

Brain Scans Reveal Touch Response in Infants

Scientists at Tokyo Metropolitan University have gauged the fluctuations in oxygenated hemoglobin levels in the brains of infants in response to tactile stimuli.

11 Dec 2023

"Wake" Slow Waves may Decrease the Impact of Epileptic Spikes on Brain Activity

Slow waves that usually only occur in the brain during sleep are also present during wakefulness in people with epilepsy and may protect against increased brain excitability associated with the condition, finds a new study led by researchers at UCL.

30 Nov 2023

Scientists Discover New Class of Molecular Glue Degraders for Cancer Therapy

Cells contain molecular machinery that targets and disposes of unwanted proteins to maintain homeostasis.

17 Nov 2023

Novel Biosensors Uncover Brain Activity

Researchers have employed novel biosensors to uncover neuropeptide activity in the brain, introducing innovative tools for examining the release, function, and regulation of these vital signaling molecules in vivo.

17 Nov 2023

Examining the Link Between Sleep Alteration and Aging in Jewel Wasps

Parents of newborns might sense a rapid aging effect during the early months of sleepless nights. Currently, researchers at the University of Leicester are exploring the intriguing possibility that the key to a long and healthy life lies in a restful night's sleep and human DNA.

10 Nov 2023

Scientists Unlock the Structure of Vesicular Monoamine Transporter 2

Neurons talk to each other using chemical signals called neurotransmitters. Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have drawn on structural biology expertise to determine structures of vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2), a key component of neuronal communication.

2 Nov 2023

Ultra-High Field 7 Tesla MRI Helps Better Understand How Light Stimulates the Brain

New research conducted at the University of Liège, using ultra-high field 7 Tesla MRI, provides a better understanding of how light stimulates our brain and could provide new insights into how it works.

25 Sep 2023

Direct-to-Consumer Blood Test for Assessing User’s Alzheimer’s Disease Risk

In July, the first direct-to-consumer blood test designed to assess a user’s risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease hit the market. The test, which has not undergone Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review, measures the level of a protein called beta amyloid, a key component of plaques that form in the brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients, disrupting brain function.

23 Aug 2023

The Secret to Staying Awake May Lie in Astrocytes

New animal research suggests that little-studied brain cells known as astrocytes are major players in controlling sleep need and may someday help humans go without sleep for longer without negative consequences such as mental fatigue and impaired physical health.

18 Aug 2023

Maintaining Regular Sleep Patterns May Improve Gut Health

New research has found irregular sleep patterns are associated with harmful bacteria in your gut.

3 Aug 2023

Metabolic Systems Share Previously Unknown Universal Properties: Study

A team from the University of Tokyo has combined economic theory with biology to understand how natural systems respond to change. The researchers noticed a similarity between consumers' shopping behavior and the behavior of metabolic systems, which convert food into energy in our bodies. The team focused on predicting how different metabolic systems might respond to environmental change by using an economic tool called the Slutsky equation.

14 Jul 2023

Scientists Discover How Brain's "Population Clock" Guides Behavior

From Aristotle's musings on the nature of time to Einstein's theory of relativity, humanity has long pondered: how do we perceive and understand time? The theory of relativity posits that time can stretch and contract, a phenomenon known as time dilation. Just as the cosmos warps time, our neural circuits can stretch and compress our subjective experience of time. As Einstein famously quipped, "Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute".

14 Jul 2023

Study Examines Neural Activity and Wake-Like Skin Patterning of Octopus During Their Sleep

When octopuses sleep, their quiet periods of slumber are punctuated by short bursts of frenzied activity. Their arms and eyes twitch, their breathing rate quickens, and their skin flashes with vibrant colors.

29 Jun 2023

Molecular Rhythms of Malaria Parasites Sync With the Biological Clock of Human Hosts

Health officials warn that drug resistance could wipe out recent progress against malaria, particularly in Africa and southeast Asia.

7 Jun 2023

Key Event that Controls the Timing of the Biological Clock Identified

Molecular clocks in our cells synchronize our bodies with the cycle of night and day, cue us for sleep and waking, and drive daily cycles in virtually every aspect of our physiology. Scientists studying the molecular mechanisms of our biological clocks have now identified a key event that controls the timing of the clock.

23 May 2023

Study Examines the Role of Neuronal Diversity in Cognitive Functions

Neurons in a key area of the brain have different functions based on their exact genetic identity, and understanding this diversity could lead to better understanding of the brain's computational flexibility and memory capacity, potentially informing disease treatment options, Cornell researchers report in a new study.

23 May 2023