Sleep neurons

2004/07/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Anatomia/Fisiologia

During sleep, neurons that secrete histamine and those that secrete serotonin and norepinephrine do not act the same way. It seems that neurons that secrete histamine are related to the mental part of sleep and others to the physical part.

Narcoleptic dogs have been used to carry out the investigation. Narcolepsy is an inescapable tendency to sleep, and it is often catalepsis attacks. In catalepsy the body calms completely, as if asleep, but the head is still on alert. Well, they have seen that neurons that secrete serotonin and noradrenaline are not active, measuring the activity of certain neurons of the hypothalamus of dogs in the state of catalepsia, but histamine.

This means that serotonin and norepinephrine neurons help keep the body awake, while histamine neurons help keep the head alert. This may explain, for example, why antihistamine drowsiness seems to give.

However, the catalytic action of these dogs was carried out through a genetic mutation and, according to some researchers, the results obtained may not serve for normal sleep processes.