http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. (Medical Xpress)—Sleep researchers from University of California campuses in Riverside and San Diego have identified the sleep mechanism that enables the brain to consolidate emotional memory and found that a popular prescription sleep aid heightens the recollection of and response to negative memories. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-mechanism-role-emotional-memory.html Neuroscience Thu, 13 Jun 2013 07:56:30 EST news290328919 The strongest predictor of whether a man is developing dementia with Lewy bodies—the second most common form of dementia in the elderly—is whether he acts out his dreams while sleeping, Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered. Patients are five times more likely to have dementia with Lewy bodies if they experience a condition known as rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder than if they have one of the risk factors now used to make a diagnosis, such as fluctuating cognition or hallucinations, the study found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-linked-dementia.html Neuroscience Thu, 21 Mar 2013 16:30:01 EST news283101928 Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have, for the first time, identified a specific group of cells in the brainstem whose activation during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is critical for the regulation of emotional memory processing. The findings, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, could help lead to the development of effective behavioral and pharmacological therapies to treat anxiety disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, phobias and panic attacks. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-reveals-potential-anxiety-disorders.html Neuroscience Tue, 05 Mar 2013 17:00:02 EST news281722254 A new study found that adult sleepwalking is a potentially serious condition that may induce violent behaviors and affect health-related quality of life. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-adult-sleepwalking-condition-impacts-health-related.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 28 Feb 2013 15:23:53 EST news281287418 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 Neuroscience researchers from Tufts University have found that our star-shaped brain cells, called astrocytes, may be responsible for the rapid improvement in mood in depressed patients after acute sleep deprivation. This in vivo study, published in the current issue of Translational Psychiatry, identified how astrocytes regulate a neurotransmitter involved in sleep. The researchers report that the findings may help lead to the development of effective and fast-acting drugs to treat depression, particularly in psychiatric emergencies. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-astrocytes-depression-therapy.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 23 Jan 2013 09:05:04 EST news278154298 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 Bushfires are quite appropriately dominating our nation's concerns during the current Australian heatwave. But for many, the struggle to sleep through soaring temperatures is a personal inferno that dominates conversation around offices and homes across the country. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-hot.html Health Fri, 11 Jan 2013 06:42:47 EST news277108955 (Medical Xpress)—Witnessing a car wreck or encountering a poisonous snake are scenes that become etched in our memories. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-rem-emotional-memories.html Neuroscience Tue, 18 Dec 2012 08:37:17 EST news275042062 A novel brain mechanism mediating the inhibition of the critical breathing muscles during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep has been identified for the first time in a new study, offering the possibility of a new treatment target for sleep-related breathing problems. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-mechanism-muscle-paralysis.html Sleep apnea Fri, 16 Nov 2012 00:20:01 EST news272219887 Everyone feels refreshed after a good night's sleep, but sleep does more than just rejuvenate, it can also consolidate memories. 'The rapid eye movement form of sleep and slow wave sleep are involved in cognitive forms of memory such as learning motor skills and consciously accessible memory', explains Randolf Menzel from the Freie Universtät Berlin, Germany. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-sleep-deprived-bees-difficulty-relearning.html Sleep apnea Thu, 25 Oct 2012 03:40:02 EST news270355134 University of Florida researchers have identified a gene responsible for brain-related symptoms of the most common form of adult-onset muscular dystrophy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-underlying-impaired-brain-function-muscular.html Neuroscience Wed, 08 Aug 2012 12:00:01 EST news263642344 Two powerful brain chemical systems work together to paralyze skeletal muscles during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, according to new research in the July 11 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. The finding may help scientists better understand and treat sleep disorders, including narcolepsy, tooth grinding, and REM sleep behavior disorder. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-muscles-paralyzed.html Neuroscience Wed, 11 Jul 2012 13:05:42 EST news261230725 Smoking, head injury, pesticide exposure, farming and less education may be risk factors for a rare sleep disorder that causes people to kick or punch during sleep, according to a study published in the June 27, 2012, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-injury-pesticide-factors-rare-disorder.html Neuroscience Wed, 27 Jun 2012 17:31:14 EST news260037060 (Medical Xpress) -- The link between dreaming and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep are well understood – but the fact that consciousness is reduced during nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep is not. Recently, scientists in the Cyclotron Research Centre at the University of Liège, in Liège, Belgium, and the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale at the Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris, and the Functional Neuroimaging Unit at the Montreal Geriatrics Institute, investigated NREM sleep with the hypothesis that this phenomenon is associated with increased modularity of the brain’s functional activity during these periods. Using functional clustering – which estimates how integration is hierarchically organized within and across the constituent parts of a system they found that while in NREM sleep, hierarchically-organized large-scale neural networks were disaggregated into smaller independent modules. The researchers concluded that this difference could reduce the ability of the brain to integrate information, thereby accounting for the decreased consciousness experienced during NREM sleep. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-dreamless-nights-brain-nonrapid-eye.html Neuroscience Mon, 09 Apr 2012 10:00:02 EST news253181445 People with symptoms suggesting rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder, or RBD, have twice the risk of developing mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or Parkinson's disease within four years of diagnosis with the sleep problem, compared with people without the disorder, a Mayo Clinic study has found. The researchers published their findings recently in the Annals of Neurology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-rem-disorder-mild-cognitive-impairment.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Wed, 14 Mar 2012 09:49:20 EST news250937345 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 They say time heals all wounds, and new research from the University of California, Berkeley, indicates that time spent in dream sleep can help. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-painful-memories.html Medical research Wed, 23 Nov 2011 12:30:04 EST news241273790 Eating a Mediterranean diet combined with physical activity can help to improve some of the symptoms of sleep apnoea, according to new research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-mediterranean-diet-apnea-symptoms.html Sleep apnea Wed, 02 Nov 2011 10:44:26 EST news239449446 (Medical Xpress) -- In the ongoing quest to find the exact way that anesthetics interact with the central nervous system, anesthesiology researchers have been examining whether the state induced by anesthetics resembles natural sleep. One way to measure this is to determine whether undergoing general anesthesia results in a sleep debt for patients. Previous research has shown that the injected anesthetic propofol does not cause a sleep deficit. Now, researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have shown in animal models that another group of anesthetics, commonly used in the operating room, do not substitute for natural sleep and may cause complications for surgery patients already at-risk for sleep-related issues. The new research is published in the October 2011 issue of the journal Anesthesiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-anesthetics-affects-ways.html Sleep apnea Tue, 04 Oct 2011 08:25:00 EST news236935493 Obese teenagers who don't get the proper amount of sleep may have disruptions in insulin secretion and blood sugar (glucose) levels, say pediatric researchers. Their study suggests that getting a good night's sleep may stave off the development of type 2 diabetes in these adolescents. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-good-night-diabetes-obese-teens.html Health Tue, 20 Sep 2011 11:26:03 EST news235736754 Reduced slow wave sleep (SWS) is a powerful predictor for developing high blood pressure in older men, according to new research in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-poor-quality-high-blood-pressure.html Sleep apnea Mon, 29 Aug 2011 16:00:01 EST news233847348 Large amounts of alcohol are known to shorten sleep latency, increase slow-wave sleep, and suppress rapid eye movement (REM) during the first half of sleep. During the second half of sleep, REM increases and sleep becomes shallower. A study of the acute effects of alcohol on the relationship between sleep and heart rate variability (HRV) during sleep has found that alcohol interferes with the restorative functions of sleep. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-alcohol-functions.html Health Mon, 15 Aug 2011 16:00:01 EST news232642035 Researchers at the University of Toronto are the first to indentify a potential cause for a severe sleep disorder that has been closely linked to Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-potential-severe-disorder-implications-parkinson.html Neuroscience Wed, 15 Jun 2011 10:49:08 EST news227353722