Chapter 9

Wakefulness and Sleep

 Why Sleep?

• Functions of sleep
include:
– Restoration of the
brain and body
– Energy conservation
– Memory
consolidation/learning
 Why Sleep?
Restoration of the Brain and Body
• Moderate sleep deprivation can result in:
– impaired concentration
– irritability
– hallucinations
– tremors
– unpleasant mood
– decreased immune system function
 Why Sleep?
Restoration of the Brain and Body
• Optimal sleep time: 8-10 hrs
 Why Sleep?
Restoration of the Brain and Body

• Prolonged sleep deprivation in laboratory

animals results in:
– Increased metabolic rate, appetite and
body temperature
– Immune system failure
– Decrease in brain activity
 Why Sleep?
Energy Conservation
• Evolutionary Theory of Sleep: The function of
sleep is to conserve energy by:
– decreasing body temperature 1-2 Celsius
degrees in mammals
– decreasing muscle activity
• Sleep is analogous to the hibernation of animals
Fig. 9-17, p. 287
 Why Sleep?
Memory and Learning
• Sleep enhances:
– learning and memory
– performance on a newly learned task
• Increased brain activity occurs in the area of the
brain activated by a newly learned task while
one is asleep
 Why Dreams?
Activation synthesis hypothesis
• Activation-synthesis
hypothesis: dreams begin
with spontaneous activity in
pons
– Pons activates many parts
of cortex
– Cortex synthesizes story
from pattern of activation
– Normal sensory information
cannot compete with the
self-generated stimulation
and hallucinations result.
 Why Dreams?
The clinico-anatomical hypothesis
• Clinico-anatomical hypothesis: Dreams are
similar to thinking, just under unusual
circumstances.
• Dreams begin with arousing stimuli that are
generated within the brain.
• Stimulation is combined with recent memories
and current sensory stimulation.


 Rhythms of Waking and Sleep
• Endogenous: generated from within
• Endogenous circannual rhythms: internal
mechanisms that operate on an annual cycle
– Examples:
• Birds migratory patterns
• Animals storing food for winter
 Rhythms of Waking and Sleep
• Endogenous circadian rhythms, internal
mechanisms that operate on an approximate
24 hour cycle:
– sleep/ wake cycle
– frequency of eating and drinking
– body temperature
– secretion of hormones
– volume of urination
– sensitivity to drugs
 The Circadian Rhythm
(AKA: The Biological Clock)

• Free-running rhythm: rhythm that occurs

when no stimuli reset or alter it
• Human circadian clock generates a rhythm
slightly longer than 24 hours when it has no
external cue to set it
• Most people can adjust to 23- or 25- hour day
but not to a 22- or 28- hour day
 Biological cues
• Sunrise= Light + • Sunset= Dark +
increasing decreasing
temperature temperature
 The Circadian Rhythm:
Resetting the Biological Clock
• Purpose of circadian rhythm: to
keep our internal workings in
phase with the outside world
• Light is critical for periodically
resetting our circadian rhythm.
• Zeitgeber: term used to
describe any stimulus that
resets circadian rhythms:
exercise, noise, meals,
temperature and more
 The Circadian Rhythm:
Resetting the Biological Clock
• Jet lag: disruption of circadian rhythm due to crossing
time zones
– Characterized by sleepiness during the day,
sleeplessness at night, and impaired
concentration.
 Rhythms of Waking and Sleep:
Biological Mechanisms

• Suprachiasmatic Nucleus
(SCN):
– Part of the hypothalamus
– Main control center of
circadian rhythms for
sleep and temperature
– Genetically controlled and
independently generates
circadian rhythm
 Rhythms of Waking and Sleep:
Biological Mechanisms
• Light resets the SCN via a
small branch of the optic
nerve known as the
retinohypothalamic path.
– Travels directly from the
retina to the SCN.
 Rhythms of Waking and Sleep:
Biological Mechanisms

• SCN regulates the pineal

gland (endocrine gland
located posterior to the
thalamus)
• Pineal gland secretes
melatonin, a hormone
that increases
sleepiness.
 Stages of Sleep And Brain Mechanisms

• Electroencephalography
(EEG) allowed
researchers to discover
that there are various
stages of sleep
• Polysomnography
measures both EEG and
eye-movement records
Fig. 9-9, p. 276
 Stages of Sleep And Brain Mechanisms

• Over the course of about

90 minutes:
– a sleeper goes
through sleep stages 1,
2, 3, and 4
– then returns through
the stages 3 and 2 to a
stage called REM.
 Stages of Sleep And Brain Mechanisms

• Alpha waves = state of relaxation

• Stage 1 sleep is when sleep has just begun.
– the EEG is dominated by irregular, jagged,
low voltage waves.
– brain activity begins to decline.
Stages of Sleep And Brain Mechanisms

• Stage 2 sleep is characterized by the

presence of:
– Sleep spindles - 12- to 14-Hz waves during
a burst that lasts at least half a second.
– K-complexes - a sharp high-amplitude
negative wave followed by a smaller,
slower positive wave.
Stages of Sleep And Brain Mechanisms

• Stage 3 and stage 4 together constitute slow

wave sleep (SWS) and is characterized by:
– EEG recording of slow, large amplitude
wave.
– Slowing of heart rate, breathing rate, and
brain activity.
– Highly synchronized neuronal activity.
 Stages of Sleep And Brain Mechanisms

• Rapid eye movement sleep (REM): periods

characterized by rapid eye movements during
sleep
– Also known as “paradoxical sleep”
because it is like deep sleep in some ways,
but light sleep in other ways.
• EEG waves resemble awake state
• Postural muscles of the body are more
relaxed than other stages
 Stages of Sleep And Brain Mechanisms
• REM is strongly associated with dreaming,
but people also report dreaming in other
stages of sleep.
• Stages other than REM are referred to as
non-REM sleep (NREM).
 Stages of Sleep And Brain Mechanisms
• Sleep stages change as the night progresses:
– Deep sleep (stages 3 & 4) gets shorter as the
night progresses
– REM sleep gets longer as the night
progresses
 Why Sleep? Why REM? Why Dreams?
• REM deprivation results in:
– Increased attempts of the brain/ body for
REM sleep throughout the night
– Increased time spent in REM when no
longer REM deprived.
• Subjects deprived of REM for 4 to 7
nights increased REM by 50% when no
longer REM deprived.
Why Sleep? Why REM? Why Dreams?

• Possible functions of REM sleep:

– Brain may discard useless connections
– Learned motor skills may be consolidated
– Oxygen may be delivered to the corneas
 Sleep Disorders
• Insomnia: inability to fall asleep or stay
asleep
– Causes: noise, stress, pain medication,
epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, depression,
anxiety, other psychiatric conditions
– Treatment: relaxation techniques, sleeping
pills
 Sleep Disorders
• Sleep apnea: periodic inability to breathe
while sleeping
• Causes: obesity, growth in windpipe, weak
lungs, deterioration of brain mechanisms that
control breathing
– Can result in cognitive impairment if there
is a loss of neurons due to insufficient
oxygen levels
• Treatments include: Weight loss, surgery,
forced air
 Sleep Disorders
• Narcolepsy: frequent periods of sleepiness
• 4 main symptoms:
– Gradual or sudden attack of sleepiness
– Cataplexy - muscle weakness triggered by
strong emotions
– Sleep paralysis- inability to move while
asleep or waking up
– Hypnagogic hallucinations- dreamlike
experiences the person has difficulty
distinguishing from reality
 Sleep Disorders
• Narcolepsy: frequent periods of sleepiness
• Cause: Lack of hypothalamic cells that
produce neurotransmitter orexin
• Treatments: Napping schedules and
stimulant drugs
 Sleep Disorders
• Periodic limb movement disorder: repeated
involuntary movement of the legs and arms
while sleeping
– Legs kick once every 20 to 30 seconds for
periods of minutes to hours.
– Usually occurs during NREM sleep.
– Treatment: tranquilizers
 Sleep Disorders

• REM behavior disorder is associated with

vigorous movement during REM sleep.
– Usually associated with acting out dreams.
– Occurs mostly in the elderly and in older
men with brain diseases such as
Parkinson’s.
• Presumed cause: damage to pons (inhibits
spinal neurons that control large muscle
movements).
 Sleep Disorders

• Night terrors: experiences of intense anxiety

from which a person awakens screaming in
terror.
– Usually occurs in NREM sleep.
• Sleep talking: occurs during both REM and
NREM sleep.
• Sleepwalking: runs in families, mostly occurs
in young children, and occurs mostly in stage
3 or 4 sleep.