article
Brain pulses stimulate deep sleep
A good night's sleep may be as simple as flipping a switch, say scientists.
By sending magnetic pulses through the skulls of sleeping volunteers,
US researchers were able to stimulate the slow brain waves seen in
deep sleep.
Such a machine-generated "power nap" could one day be an insomnia
treatment, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study
suggests.
However, it is unclear whether electronically assisted sleep confers
the same benefits as natural sleep.
The deepest stage of sleep is characterised by brain patterns known
as slow wave activity - electrical waves which wash across the brain,
roughly once a second, 1,000 times a night.
Slow wave activity is believed to be critical to the restoration of
mood and the ability to learn, think and remember.
Professor Giulio Tononi and colleagues used a technique called
transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) - a harmless magnetic signal
which activates electrical impulses in the brain - to initiate slow
waves in sleeping volunteers.
They then recorded brain electrical activity.
In response to each magnetic pulse, the participants' brains
immediately produced the slow waves typical of deep sleep.
The researchers managed to position the TMS device to cause slow
waves to travel throughout the brain.
'Restorative powers'
Professor Tononi, from the University of Wisconsin said slow waves
may be important in sleep's "restorative powers".
He said a sleep-deprived person has larger and more numerous slow
waves once asleep.
And as sleep proceeds, the slow waves weaken, which may signal that
the need for sleep is partially satisfied.
"With a single pulse, we were able to induce a wave that looks
identical to the waves the brain makes normally during sleep."
He added that creating slow waves on demand could one day lead to
treatments for insomnia, where slow waves may be reduced, or a
magnetically stimulated "power nap," which might confer the benefit
of eight hours sleep in just a few hours.
But he said researchers must first discover if artificial slow waves
have restorative benefits to the brain, and the team are planning
further experiments.
Dr Chris Idzikowski, director of the Edinburgh Sleep Centre said the
notion of trying to support deep sleep was sound.
"Out of all the stages of sleep we think that's the one that provides
the basic biological function of recovery.
"But just mimicking sleep waves doesn't mean you're providing the
same functions of sleep."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/6614433.stm
Published: 2007/05/02 09:31:47 GMT
© BBC MMVII
A good night's sleep may be as simple as flipping a switch, say scientists.
By sending magnetic pulses through the skulls of sleeping volunteers,
US researchers were able to stimulate the slow brain waves seen in
deep sleep.
Such a machine-generated "power nap" could one day be an insomnia
treatment, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study
suggests.
However, it is unclear whether electronically assisted sleep confers
the same benefits as natural sleep.
The deepest stage of sleep is characterised by brain patterns known
as slow wave activity - electrical waves which wash across the brain,
roughly once a second, 1,000 times a night.
Slow wave activity is believed to be critical to the restoration of
mood and the ability to learn, think and remember.
Professor Giulio Tononi and colleagues used a technique called
transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) - a harmless magnetic signal
which activates electrical impulses in the brain - to initiate slow
waves in sleeping volunteers.
They then recorded brain electrical activity.
In response to each magnetic pulse, the participants' brains
immediately produced the slow waves typical of deep sleep.
The researchers managed to position the TMS device to cause slow
waves to travel throughout the brain.
'Restorative powers'
Professor Tononi, from the University of Wisconsin said slow waves
may be important in sleep's "restorative powers".
He said a sleep-deprived person has larger and more numerous slow
waves once asleep.
And as sleep proceeds, the slow waves weaken, which may signal that
the need for sleep is partially satisfied.
"With a single pulse, we were able to induce a wave that looks
identical to the waves the brain makes normally during sleep."
He added that creating slow waves on demand could one day lead to
treatments for insomnia, where slow waves may be reduced, or a
magnetically stimulated "power nap," which might confer the benefit
of eight hours sleep in just a few hours.
But he said researchers must first discover if artificial slow waves
have restorative benefits to the brain, and the team are planning
further experiments.
Dr Chris Idzikowski, director of the Edinburgh Sleep Centre said the
notion of trying to support deep sleep was sound.
"Out of all the stages of sleep we think that's the one that provides
the basic biological function of recovery.
"But just mimicking sleep waves doesn't mean you're providing the
same functions of sleep."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/6614433.stm
Published: 2007/05/02 09:31:47 GMT
© BBC MMVII