Sleep Flashcards
What is sleep?
State of unconsciousness from which individual can be aroused by normal stimuli, light, touch, sound ect. Cyclical
What is a coma?
State of unconsciousness from which individual cannot be aroused and does not responds to stimuli.
Why does sleep occur?
Due to active inhibitory processes that originate in the pons
What does destruction of the brainstem at the level of the mid-pons create?
A brain that never sleeps
Which part of the hypothalamus is also involved in sleep?
Suprachiasmatic nuclei
What does SCN demonstrate?
24hr circadian rhythm
What can electrical stimulation of the SCN do?
Promote sleep
What can damage to the SCN do?
Disrupt the sleep-wake cycle
What does activity in the SCN stimulate the release of?
Melatonin from the pineal gland
Where is melatonin released from?
The pineal gland
What does melatonin correspond with in humans?
Feelings of sleepiness but not immediately
What else does the hypothalamus release to to help wakefulness?
Orexin
What do orexin neurons do?
Orexin neurons are active during the waking state and stop firing during sleep.
What does defective orexin signalling cause?
Narcolepsy; individual will suddenly fall asleep, sometimes even when talking.
Where does evidence suggest that sleeping activity originates?
Reticular formation of the brainstem
What is the reticular formation closely associated with?
Controlling the state of consciousness
How do you asses the level of consciousness in an awake person?
Look at their behaviour, general alertness, speech patterns, speech content, reading, writing and calculating skills. Spell words backwards or count backwards,
How do you record patterns of brain activity?
Record patterns of brain activity using ElectroEncepheloGram (EEG). EEG uses electrodes placed on the scalp to record activity of underlying neurons.
What is more informative frequency or amplitude?
Frequency
What is frequency?
Number of waves per second
What is amplitude of waves?
The size of waves
What are the 4 main type of wave patterns seen?
Alpha
Beta
Theta
Delta
In the relaxed awake state what is the EEG characterised by?
High frequency, high amplitude waves
Alpha waves
In the alert awake state what is the EEG characterised by?
Even higher frequency, low amplitude asynchronous waves termed waves.
Why does the alert phase create low amplitude waves?
Increase in activity is asynchronous as brain is doing so many things at once, and opposing polarities of the signals cancel each other out and do not get recorded on EEG.
What are theta waves characterised by?
Low frequency waves that can vary enormously in amplitude
Who are theta waves common in?
Children
Which waves occur during sleep in both adults and children?
Theta waves
What are delta waves characterised by?
Very low frequency but high amplitude
When do delta waves occur?
In Deep sleep
What is stage 1 sleep?
Slow wave, non-REM, S-sleep. Slow eye movements. Light sleep. Easily roused. High amplitude, low frequency theta waves.
What is stage 2 sleep?
Eye movements stop. Frequency slows further but EEG shows bursts of rapid waves called “sleep spindles” (clusters of rhythmic waves, ~12-14Hz)