http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. (HealthDay)—The widening American waistline may be feeding an epidemic of sleep apnea, potentially robbing millions of people of a good night's rest, a new study suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-obesity-crisis-fueling-big-apnea.html Sleep apnea Fri, 10 May 2013 15:00:02 EST news287414031 New findings clarify where and how the brain's "slow waves" originate. These rhythmic signal pulses, which sweep through the brain during deep sleep at the rate of about one cycle per second, are assumed to play a role in processes such as consolidation of memory. For the first time, researchers have shown conclusively that slow waves start in the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain responsible for cognitive functions. They also found that such a wave can be set in motion by a tiny cluster of neurons. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-scientists-probe-source-pulsing-brain.html Neuroscience Thu, 18 Apr 2013 04:44:06 EST news285478931 Slow oscillations in brain activity, which occur during so-called slow-wave sleep, are critical for retaining memories. Researchers reporting online April 11 in the Cell Press journal Neuron have found that playing sounds synchronized to the rhythm of the slow brain oscillations of people who are sleeping enhances these oscillations and boosts their memory. This demonstrates an easy and noninvasive way to influence human brain activity to improve sleep and enhance memory. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-memory.html Neuroscience Thu, 11 Apr 2013 12:00:17 EST news284898573 (Medical Xpress)—What makes us happy? Family? Money? Love? How about a peptide? The neurochemical changes underlying human emotions and social behavior are largely unknown. Now though, for the first time in humans, scientists at UCLA have measured the release of a specific peptide, a neurotransmitter called hypocretin, that greatly increased when subjects were happy but decreased when they were sad. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-peptide-key-happiness.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 07 Mar 2013 06:57:23 EST news281861834 Daylight savings time is March 10 – that's when clocks "spring forward" at 2 a.m. and you lose an hour of sleep. Most Americans are already sleep-deprived, which can impact your mood and performance in the workplace and overall health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-spring-forward-with-sleep-tips.html Health Wed, 06 Mar 2013 09:52:09 EST news281785923 (HealthDay)—Far more than just leaving you yawning, a small amount of sleep deprivation disrupts the activity of genes, potentially affecting metabolism and other functions in the human body, a new study suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-deprivation-disrupt-genes.html Medical research Mon, 25 Feb 2013 16:27:43 EST news281032026 Nursing professor Elizabeth Dowdell, of Villanova University has reported in an interview with a CBS news affiliate in Philadelphia, that she has discovered a new phenomena she calls "sleep texting." She says it's just like what it sounds like—teenagers sending text messages while at least partially asleep. She notes that it occurs when a teen receives a text, becomes aware of their phone beeping, and then responds—quite often with gibberish, but sometimes with words they never intended to use. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-nursing-professor-teens-texting.html Health Mon, 18 Feb 2013 07:00:01 EST news280389522 The connection between poor sleep, memory loss and brain deterioration as we grow older has been elusive. But for the first time, scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have found a link between these hallmark maladies of old age. Their discovery opens the door to boosting the quality of sleep in elderly people to improve memory. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-poor-age-brain-memories.html Neuroscience Sun, 27 Jan 2013 13:00:01 EST news278503695 Sleep is supported by natural cycles of activity in the brain and consists of two basic states: rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. Typically, people begin the sleep cycle with NREM sleep followed by a very short period of REM sleep, then continue with more NREM sleep and more REM sleep, this 90 minute cycle continuing through the night. A review of all known scientific studies on the impact of drinking on nocturnal sleep has clarified that alcohol shortens the time it takes to fall asleep, increases deep sleep, and reduces REM sleep. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-alcohol-effects.html Health Tue, 22 Jan 2013 16:00:05 EST news278091603 When you're studying for an exam, is there something you can do while you sleep to retain the information better? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-retained-stimuli.html Neuroscience Tue, 15 Jan 2013 07:55:30 EST news277458908 For many parents, discovering their child has a fever can be unnerving. It's one of the most common reasons parents call their doctor or bring their child in for medical care. Fevers are just a natural part of many illnesses and, in fact, can be helpful as a child battles an illness. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-fevers-child-friend-pediatrician-parents.html Health Thu, 15 Nov 2012 07:17:44 EST news272186257 Neuroscientists studying the link between poor sleep and schizophrenia have found that irregular sleep patterns and desynchronised brain activity during sleep could trigger some of the disease's symptoms. The findings, published in the journal Neuron, suggest that these prolonged disturbances might be a cause and not just a consequence of the disorder's debilitating effects. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-poor-contribute-symptoms-schizophrenia.html Neuroscience Wed, 14 Nov 2012 13:30:55 EST news272122233 Insomnia and sleep apnoea are turning us into major health service consumers, causing us to be less productive at work, and may even lead to serious accidents. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-problems-billions.html Health Thu, 01 Nov 2012 10:45:54 EST news270985545 Slow-wave sleep, or 'deep sleep', is intimately involved in the complex control of the onset of puberty, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (JCEM). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-puberty-brain-deep.html Medical research Thu, 13 Sep 2012 00:00:01 EST news266688921 Studies of lucid dreamers visualize which centers of the brain become active when we become aware of ourselves. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-seat-meta-consciousness-brain.html Neuroscience Fri, 27 Jul 2012 10:57:48 EST news262605426 (Medical Xpress) -- A study found that children with Type 1 diabetes experienced less time in deep sleep than children without diabetes, resulting in higher glucose levels, reduced quality of life and lower grades. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-collaboration-advances-diabetes.html Sleep apnea Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:00:01 EST news246876195 A team from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) and McGill University has made a major breakthrough by unraveling the inner workings of melatonin, also known as the "sleep hormone." The research, conducted in collaboration with scientists in Italy, reveals the key role played by the melatonin receptor in the brain that promotes deep, restorative sleep. This discovery led the researchers to develop a novel drug called UCM765, which selectively activates this receptor. The results, published in The Journal of Neuroscience, may pave the way for the development of new and promising treatments for insomnia, a common public health problem that affects millions of people worldwide. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-tireless-reveals-secrets-hormone.html Neuroscience Tue, 13 Dec 2011 17:00:14 EST news243005502 Recently, optogenetics, which controls the activity of neuron using the light-activated protein, has been getting a lot of attention. This light-activated protein works like a switch of neurons by sensing specific color of light. This time, Associate Professor Akihiro YAMANAKA and Dr. Tomomi Tsunematsu from National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS), succeeded in suppressing only the activity of the orexin neurons in the mice's brains (hypothalamus) when the optical switch was on, using the light-activated protein, halorhodopsin (eNpHR). This flipping on and off the optical switch led mice into sleep and wakefulness. Those mice fell into non-REM sleep (slow-wave sleep) only when the halorhodopsin-expressed orexin neurons were exposed to the light. It is reported in the Journal of Neuroscience published by the Society for Neuroscience in USA (July 20, 2011, Eastern Standard Time, USA) . http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-non-rem-mice-optogenetical-technique.html Neuroscience Wed, 20 Jul 2011 17:44:36 EST news230402662