http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. An experimental sleeping pill from US drug company Merck is effective at helping people fall and stay asleep, according to reviewers at the US Food and Drug Administration, which could soon approve the new drug. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-pill-poised.html Medications Tue, 21 May 2013 17:50:01 EST news288376487 Why do some memories last a lifetime while others disappear quickly? A new study suggests that memories rehearsed, during either sleep or waking, can have an impact on memory consolidation and on what is remembered later. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-reactivating-memories-memory-rehearsal-big.html Neuroscience Fri, 12 Apr 2013 13:38:44 EST news284992711 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 Three myths about sleepwalking – sleepwalkers have no memory of their actions, sleepwalkers' behaviour is without motivation, and sleepwalking has no daytime impact – are dispelled in a recent study led by Antonio Zadra of the University of Montreal and its affiliated Sacré-Coeur Hospital. Working from numerous studies over the last 15 years at the hospital's Centre for Advanced Studies in Sleep Medicine at the Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal and a thorough analysis of the literature, Zadra and his colleagues have raised the veil on sleepwalking and clarified the diagnostic criteria for researchers and clinicians. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-sleepwalkers-theyve.html Neuroscience Thu, 14 Mar 2013 04:45:56 EST news282455141 (Medical Xpress)—There's no need to panic if you didn't get a solid eight hours of beauty sleep last night. According to new University of Sydney research, sleep duration naturally waxes and wanes over a period of days regardless of individual lifestyle, timing of sleep or waking, and social and environmental influences. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-previously-unknown-pattern-revealed.html Health Tue, 29 Jan 2013 06:35:03 EST news278663593 Infants who have started crawling wake up more often at night compared to the period before the crawling, reveals a new study by Dr. Dina Cohen of the University of Haifa's Department of Counseling and Human Development. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-baby-night.html Pediatrics Wed, 02 Jan 2013 10:53:03 EST news276346371 A new drug may bring help for people with insomnia, according to a study published in the November 28, 2012, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-suvorexant-drug-approach-insomnia.html Neuroscience Wed, 28 Nov 2012 16:31:51 EST news273342621 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 (Medical Xpress)—Mixing energy drinks with alcohol (AEDs) as party beverages is a growing trend among young Australians, who are putting their health at risk by consuming amounts beyond what is deemed safe, according to new research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-alcohol-energy-bad.html Health Mon, 01 Oct 2012 06:20:01 EST news268289932 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 Severe sleep loss jolts the immune system into action, reflecting the same type of immediate response shown during exposure to stress, a new study reports. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-deprivation-effect-immune-mirrors-physical.html Sleep apnea Sat, 30 Jun 2012 13:22:16 EST news260281319 Breast cancer is the number one cause of female mortality. It affects 100 out of 100,000 women per year in developed countries. Each year, more than 1.3 million new cases are diagnosed, 53,000 of these in France. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-night-women-health.html Cancer Tue, 19 Jun 2012 11:11:29 EST news259323071 Sleep, or lack of it, can determine level of cognitive performance which is linked with accidents as well as increased risk of serious health problems. Links between cell energy levels, gene transcription and sleep rhythms may uncover answers to sleep disorders and the ill-effects of sleep deprivation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-energy-link-mechanisms.html Medical research Fri, 25 May 2012 08:59:27 EST news257155155 Sleep plays a powerful role in preserving our memories. But while recent research shows that wakefulness may cloud memories of negative or traumatic events, a new study has found that wakefulness also degrades positive memories. Sleep, it seems, protects positive memories just as it does negative ones, and that has important implications for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-accentuating-positive-memories.html Neuroscience Mon, 02 Apr 2012 09:20:46 EST news252577222 Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have, for the first time, identified an intracellular signaling enzyme that regulates the wake-sleep cycle, which could help lead to the development of more effective sleep aid medications. Subimal Datta, PhD, director and principle investigator at the Laboratory of Sleep and Cognitive Neuroscience at BUSM, led the study, which points to a specific enzyme inside neurons in the brain that trigger an important shift in consciousness from sleep to wakefulness and wakefulness to sleep. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-molecular-mechanism.html Sleep apnea Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:24:48 EST news241205082 (Medical Xpress) -- A new study has found that protein and not sugar activates the cells responsible for keeping us awake and burning calories. The research, published in the 17 November issue of the scientific journal Neuron, has implications for understanding obesity and sleep disorders. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-pm-slump-sugar.html Neuroscience Wed, 16 Nov 2011 12:00:05 EST news240664790 (Medical Xpress) -- Amphetamine use in adolescence can cause neurobiological imbalances and increase risk-taking behaviour, and these effects can persist into adulthood, even when subjects are drug free. These are the conclusions of a new study using animal models conducted by McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) researcher Dr. Gabriella Gobbi and her colleagues. The study, published today in The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, is one of the first to shed light on how long-term amphetamine use in adolescence affects brain chemistry and behaviour. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-adolescent-amphetamine-linked-permanent-brain.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:00:13 EST news239535778 An ongoing lack of sleep during adolescence could lead to more than dragging, foggy teens, a University of Wisconsin-Madison study suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-dont-snooze-wake-sleep-patterns-affect.html Neuroscience Sun, 09 Oct 2011 13:00:32 EST news237381407 With the novel use of a technique that uses light to control brain cells, Stanford University researchers have shown that fragmented sleep causes memory impairment in mice. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-impairs-memory-mice.html Sleep apnea Mon, 25 Jul 2011 15:00:31 EST news230824727 Sleep can help college students retain and integrate new information to solve problems on a classroom exam, suggests a research abstract that will be presented Tuesday, June 14, in Minneapolis, Minn., at SLEEP 2011, the 25th Anniversary Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC (APSS). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-boost-classroom-college-students.html Health Tue, 14 Jun 2011 04:34:09 EST news227244826 The quality of interactions among married couples is affected by wives' inability to fall asleep at night, but not by husbands' sleep problems, suggests new research that will be presented Monday, June 13, in Minneapolis, Minn., at SLEEP 2011, the 25th Anniversary Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC (APSS). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-wives-problems-negative-impact-marital.html Health Mon, 13 Jun 2011 13:21:59 EST news227190110 Continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, can increase alertness and even improve quality of life for sufferers of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), even if their symptoms are minimal, according to a study conducted by researchers in Europe. Patients enrolled in the study reported an improvement in daytime sleepiness within six months of beginning CPAP treatment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-cpap-daytime-sleepiness-patients-symptoms.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Sun, 15 May 2011 11:18:51 EST news224677089 (PhysOrg.com) -- In a new study published in Science, researchers from the University of Liege in Belgium, led by Dr. Melanie Boly, share the discovery of a new test that could aid physicians in differentiating between vegetative and minimally conscious states in patients with brain damage. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-distinguish-vegetative-minimally-conscious-state.html Neuroscience Fri, 13 May 2011 13:19:15 EST news224511523 If you've ever lost your keys or stuck the milk in the cupboard and the cereal in the refrigerator, you may have been the victim of a tired brain region that was taking a quick nap. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-brain-regions-short-naps-errors.html Neuroscience Wed, 27 Apr 2011 13:00:01 EST news223122558