睡眠の基礎

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The physiological basis of sleep including its importance was reviewed and discussed.Among the definitions of sleep, Hobson's definition is most reasonable. The reason is that itcontains both result of recent progress of sleep science and brain research. It rephrasesAbraham Lincoln's famous declaration about government : "Sleep is of the brain, by thebrain, and for the brain". Sleep has been thought formally under the unitary theory, butpresently under the duality theory. It is due to the two epoch-making discoveries : one isthat of EEG and the other is that of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Scientific research ofsleep was opened by these two discoveries. There are two kinds of states, non-REM sleepand REM sleep, in sleep of higher animals including humans. Those sleep states are definedwith EEG, EMG, and eye movements. There are common phenomena of "behaviorally definedsleep" to those of human sleep in the lower animals such as insects, fishes, amphibians, andreptiles. However, there is the characteristic feature in human sleep which is not observedin the lower animals. When conducting an animal experiment, it is necessary to recognizethis point. Sleep is regulated under the two control systems : biological clock and homeostasis.As a brain part adjusting sleep and wake, the whole aspect is not yet disclosed, although thespecial neural network which contains the basal forebrain including the diencephalon(thalamus and hypothalamus) and the brain stem (midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata) isimportant. As to these neural mechanisms, relation of the humoral mechanism by the sleepsubstance, neurotransmitter, etc. has been clarified recently, and it is thought that both theneural and humoral mechanisms exert the complement-action on the mutual regulation ofsleep and wake. Recently, the method of approaching sleep in molecular biology has beenbudding.In conclusion, it is sleep that is easy to fall victim among everyday life in "24-hoursociety." As the price at the sacrifice of sleep, not only a health trouble, but also a socialproblem and an economical loss are caused. The role of sleep, a basic physiological function,should be greatly appreciated. Sleep, with wake, is the physiological basis of our behaviorand supports our life activity from both dynamic and static sides, alternately and mutually.Both sleep and wake are regulated by the brain, fitting our living body to internal andexternal environment. Sleep is food of the brain and essential to the health of our mind andbody.
徳島医学会の論文
2004-05-25

睡眠の基礎

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徳島医学会 | 論文

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