Single Area of the Brain Wakes You Up and Puts You to Asleep

centers" located in the lower part of the brain including the brainstem that directly activates the neocortex, which is the part of the mammalian brain involved in higher-order brain functions such as sensory perception, cognition and generation of motor commands. In an important new study, neuroscientists at the Department of BioMedical Research (DBMR) at the University of Bern and the Department of Neurology at Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, found that neurons in the thalamus, a central hub of the brain, control sleep as well as wakefulness. The thalamus is connected to almost all other brain areas and supports important brain functions including attention, sensory perception, cognition and consciousness. Switching sleep on and off The researchers headed by Prof. Dr. Antoine Adamantidis discovered that a small population of these thalamic neurons have a dual control over sleep and wakefulness, by generating sleep slow waves but also waking up from sleep, depending on their electrical activity. The research group used a technique called optogenetics, with which they used light pulses to precisely control the activity of thalamic neurons of mice. When they activated thalamic neurons with regular long-lasting stimuli the animals woke up, but if they activated them in a slow rhythmical manner, the mice had a deeper, more restful sleep. This is the first time that an area of the brain has been found to have both sleep and wake promoting functions. https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience/news/brains-single-centre-that-controls-sleep-and-wakefulness-found-304985?utm_campaign=Newsletter_TN_BreakingScienceNews&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=63721315&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--kC1Qngf5FRxyUWVo1XB3aq8es_sAPujwN9lxcShOjqSnIM3aQqVZc0sEZEeU74t8e2GaftH9Srr3zCj1eyacXmj3RPA&_hsmi=63721315