76 - Sleep Flashcards
Alpha waves
(8 - 13 Hz)
a. associated with state of relaxed wakefulness in an adult with their eyes closed
b. prominent over occipital and parietal areas
c. EEG changes to beta rhythm if eyes open or in response to other sensory stimuli. Mental concentration such as that required to do arithmetic problems will also cause a change to the beta rhythm.
Beta waves
(13 - 30 Hz)
a. smaller amplitude than alpha waves
b. sometimes called desynchronized EEG
c. normally seen over frontal region
d. also found over other regions during intense mental activity
Theta waves
(4 - 7 Hz)
Delta waves
(0.5 - 3.5 Hz)
Which waves are associated with stages of sleep in a healthy adult?
Both theta and delta activity are associated with stages of sleep in a healthy adult
What are the stages of sleep?
- Stage 1 - transition awake – asleep; theta waves prominent
- Stage 2 - light sleep, K complexes and sleep spindles
- Stage 3 - moderately deep sleep some delta waves (more than 20% less than 50%)
- Stage 4 - deep sleep - delta waves more than 50% of period.
Note:
- Stage 3 - 4 sleep sometimes grouped together as slow wave sleep or deep sleep or stage delta NREM sleep
- Above 4 stages called Non - REM sleep.
- REM or rapid eye movement sleep
Describe the awake to sleep transition
- Awake and alert with eyes open – beta waves
- Awake but relaxed with eyes shut – alpha waves
- Enter stage 1 sleep
Describe non-REM sleep
- Brain uses less oxygen than when awake or in REM sleep.
- decreased body temperature and metabolic rate
- decreased heart rate and blood pressure
- decreased respiratory rate
- Muscles relaxed but major postural adjustments made about every 20 minutes.
- Threshold for arousal increases as EEG wave frequency decreases. So it is harder to arouse sleeper in Stage 4 sleep than Stage 1.
- The pulsatile release of growth hormone (GH) is related to the sleep wake cycle with more than 70% of GH released during the first half (mainly slow wave sleep) of a person’s nightly sleep.
Describe REM sleep
- Also called paradoxical sleep since EEG similar to awake EEG. Other names active sleep and desynchronized sleep.
- PGO spikes (pontine - geniculate - occipital) associated with bursts of eye movements.
- Irregular heart beat and respiration. Penile erection in males, clitoral engorgement in women.
- Depressed muscle tone throughout body except for muscles moving eyes, and respiratory muscles. Intense postsynaptic inhibition of alpha motor neurons.
- REM dreams are longer, and more visual and emotional than the thought-like dreams of non-REM sleep.
How is REM sleep affected by alcohol?
REM rebound after suppression by alcohol, barbiturates or other REM suppressing drugs
How is REM affected during the onset of puberty in females?
At the start of puberty in females, there is pulsatile release of gonadotropin from the pituitary during REM sleep. At maturation pulses occur throughout the day.
Describe the normal sleep pattern in adults
Normal adult sleep pattern
a. Stage 4 sleep appears primarily in first half of sleep period
b. REM sleep does not usually occur until 90 minutes or more into sleep period.
What controls the sleep-wake cycle?
Circadian rhythmicity is under homeostatic regulation
Which nucleus of the hypothalamus is the “internal clock”?
Suprachiasmatic nucleus
Describe the role of the suprachiasmatic nucleus
• Circadian clocks help animals adjust their physiology and behavior to the 24 hour day-night cycle. Body rhythms are synchronized (or photoentrained) to the day/night cycle which changes with the seasons. There is a photopigment melanopsin in special retinal ganglion cells projecting to the SNC. These retinal ganglion cells depolarize in response to light and are probably responsible for setting the “master” biological clock in the SCN.
Where is melatonin synthesized and released?
Melatonin synthesis in the pineal gland is indirectly controlled by the suprachiasmatic nucleus.
What is the role of melatonin in sleep?
Melatonin is a sleep promoting neurohormone that is thought to help modulate the brainstem circuits that control the sleep-wake cycle.