Brain Activity in REM sleep

 Researcher interested in the mechanisms of REM decided to use a PET

scan to determine which brain areas increased or decreased during their
activity in REM. Although research might sound simple, PET requires
injecting a radioactive chemical. Imagine trying to give sleepers an
injection without awakening them. Further, PET scan a clear image only
id their heads remains still during the data collection. If a person tosses
or turns slightly, the image is blurry and worthless. To avoid this
difficulties, researchers convince young people to sleep with their heads
firmly attached to masks that did not permit any movement. They also
inserted a plastic tube into the person’s arm so they could inject
radioactive chemicals during the night. Imagine yourself in this setup
and try to sleep.
 Because researchers foresaw the difficulties of sleeping in this
conditions, they had their participants stay awake the entire night.
Someone who is tired enough can sleep during this
circumstances(maybe).
 During the REM, activity increased in the pons – triggers the onset
of REM sleep and limbic system – important for emotional
responses. REM sleep is associated with a distinctive pattern of high
– amplitude electrical potentials known as PGO waves or Ponto -
geniculo-occipital waves are distinctive wave forms of propagating
activity between three key brain regions: the pons, lateral geniculate
nucleus, and occipital lobe; specifically, they are phasic field
potentials.
 Sleep disorders
 How much sleep is enough? Individuals vary genetically in
their need for sleep. The average adult human needs 7 ½ to 8
hours of sleep but some people need more, few has been
known to do well as little as 3 hours of sleep per night.
Insomnia is how someone feels the following day. If you feel
tired during the day it means you’re sleeping enough at night.
Sleep deprivation impairs memory, attention, and cognition. It
magnifies unpleasant emotional reactions and increases the
risk of depression.
 Causes of Insomnia – includes noise, uncomfortable
temperatures, stress, pain, diet, and medications. Try to
identify the reasons for your sleep problems before you try to
solve them.
 Sleep Apnea
 One type of insomnia, is sleep apnea – impaired
ability to breathe while sleeping. People with sleep
apnea have breathing periods of a minute or so which
they awaken gasping for air. They may be remember
waking up but they certainly notice the consequences
like sleepness the day during and impaired attention.
People with sleep apnea increased the risk for stroke,
heart problems, and other disorders. People with
sleep apnea appear to have lost their neurons and
many of them show defencies of learning, reasoning,
attention, and impulse control.
 Sleepapnea results several causes – genetics, hormones, and old-
age deterioration of the brain that regulates breathing. Another
cause is obesity, many obese men have narrower than normal
airways and to compensate by breathing frequently or vigorously.
During their sleep they can’t keep up that rate of breathing
because they have narrower than usual adopt sleeping posture.

 People with sleep apnea are advised to lose weight and avoid
alcohol and tranquilizers – impair the breathing muscles. The
most common treatment is a mask that covers the nose and
delivers air under enough pressure to keep the breathing passages
open. This procedure improves sleep blood pressure slightly
decreases the risk of stroke or heart attack. Surgery to open the
breathing spaces can be helpful in some cases but disappointing in
others.
Periodic Limb Movement Disorder
 Another sleep disorder is periodic limb movement disorder –
characterized by repeated involuntary movement of the legs
and sometimes the arms during sleep. It is a distinct from
restless leg syndrome, which people often feel the urge to kick
a leg even while awake.
 Many people, perhaps most people, experience this occasional
involuntary kick especially when starting to fall asleep. Leg
movements are not problem unless they become persistent. In
people periodic limb movement is a disorder, mostly middle –
aged and older, the legs kick once every 20 to 30 seconds for
minutes or hours, mostly during NREM sleep.
REM Behaviour Disorder
 Most people, the major postural muscles are relaxed
and inactive during REM sleep however, people with
REM behaviour disorder move around vigorously
during REM periods, apparently acting their dreams.
They frequently dream about defending themselves
against attack, and they may punch, kick, and leap
about. They often injure themselves or other people
and damage property.
 Narcolepsy
 Narcolepsy –
A condition characterized by frequent periods of sleeping
during the day, strikes about 1 person in 1,000. It sometimes
runs in the families but most cases emerge in people with no
affected relatives. The H1N1 flu virus in 2009 – 2010 caused
many cases of narcolepsy. Narcolepsy has four symptoms
although not all patients experienced the four.
 Attacks of sleepiness during the day
 Occasional cataplexy
 attack of muscle weakness while the person is still awake,
anger or great excitement.
 Sleep paralysis
 In ability to move while falling asleep or waking up.
People with narcolepsy experienced it frequently.

 Hypnagogic hallucination
 dreamlike experiences that the person has trouble
distinguishing from reality. Occurs at the onset of
sleep.
Night terrors & Sleepwalking
 Night terrors - are experiences of intense anxiety from which
a person awakens screaming in terror. A night terror is more
severe than a nightmare, which is simply an unpleasant dream.
Night terrors occur during NREM sleep and more common in
children than adults.
 Common causes of Night terrors:
 Very tired
 Unwell sudden noise at night or needing to pee during the
night.
 Worried
 Anxious
 Stressed
 Night terrors in children - Night terrors usually
happen about 2 to 3 hours after the child falls asleep,
when sleep moves from the deepest stage of non –
REM sleep to a lighter REM sleep. A child becomes
upset and frightened.

 What to do when a child is having night terrors?

The best way to handle a night terror is to wait it out
patiently and make sure your child doesn’t hurt
themselves. Kids usually settled down and return to
their sleep in a few minutes. It’s best not wake the kids
during night terrors.
 Sleepwalking
 Sleepwalking runs in the families and occurs mostly in
children. Most people who sleepwalk and many of their
relatives have one or more additional sleep difficulties
such as snoring, disordered sleep breathing, bed –
wetting and night terrors. The causes of sleepwalking
are not well understood, but it happens on someone
who are sleep deprived or stress. Sleepwalking is
usually harmless but not always. Sleepwalkers have
known to eat, rearrange furniture, fall off balconies and
drive cars while disregarding lanes and traffic lights.
The deeds of sleepwalkers are not remembered.
 There is a condition called “Sexsomnia” in which sleeping
people engage in sexual behaviour, either with a partner or by
masturbation and do not remember it afterwards. Some cases
occurs when someone with sleep apnea suddenly awakens
partially and confused during the non – REM sleep. Many
people with sexsomnia were sleepwalkers as children.

 Sexsomnia poses as a threat to romances and marriages. As

one woman said “after getting married a few years ago, my
husband told me I was masturbating in my sleep, I was
mortified, since I’m having such a great sex in sleep I have no
desire while I’m awake. This is killing my relationship with
my husband”