Overview

====== Sleep is a state of lowered metabolic activity characterized by an absence of consciousness. Although scientific sleep studies date as far back as the 1950's, when William C. Dement began his pioneering research on rapid eye movement and dreaming, it is important to note that sleep is a topic of ongoing research. Sleep is of particular interest in neuroscience as it seems that its physiological origin is mostly in the brain. However, the effects of sleep and its deprivation are systemic and are not limited to mental performance. In addition to supporting and developing proper cognitive function in higher vertebrates, sleep plays an important role in other somatic functions such as muscle repair and immunity. Consequently, any disorder or abnormality that interrupts individuals’ regular sleep patterns can be detrimental to health. The study of sleep in relation to development, dreams and disorders along with their respective drug therapies is a promising field.

> 1.1: //The Origin of Circadian Rhythm// - The Neural Substrates and Mechanisms > 1.2: //The Entrenchment// - the Adaptive Strategy > 1.3: //The Rhythm Within// -Intracellular Protein/Gene Influence > 1.4: //The Memory// - Rhythm Manifestation in the Form of Memory > 1.5: //Inquiry// - Method to Study Circadian Rhythm > 1.6: //Beyond// - Using Circadian Rhythm to Study Humans
 * 1) Circadian Rhythms (Yuka Fukuda)**

> 2.1 Arousing Diffuse Modulatory Systems > 2.2 Sleep Promoting Diffuse Modulatory Systems > 2.3 Other Functional Regions > 2.3 Integration of Multiple Systems > > 3.1 REM Sleep > 3.2 NREM Sleep
 * 2) Neural mechanisms (Alexander Levit)**
 * 3) Sleep Cycles and Dreams (Leora Sazant)**

> 4.1 Changes in Brain Structure > 4.2 Language and cognitive function > 4.3 Consequences in infants with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome
 * 4) Language Development (Xin Tian)**

> 5.1 Obstructive Sleep Apnea > 5.2 Restless Leg Syndrome > 5.3 Insomnia > 5.4 Narcolepsy > 5.5 Sleep Deprivation
 * 5) Disorders and Deprivation (Shradha Talwar)**

> 6.1 Drug Therapy > 6.2 Influence of Sedatives and Hypnotics > 6.3 Recent Research
 * 6) Drug Therapy (Frederick Leung)**