It turned out that the role of such a “switch” perform salt in the brain.
Scientists believe that found in the brain’s “sleep switch”, they claim that salt in the brain play a significant role in deciding whether a person is sleeping or awake. The discovery could pave the way for better treatment of sleep disorders and insomnia and help to develop new tools to combat depression.
A study conducted at the University of Copenhagen and the University of Rochester shows that by acting on the level of salts in the brain to control sleep and wakefulness in mice. The article was published in the journal Science.
Professor Maiken Nedergaard noted that salt plays a more important and decisive role in the sleep cycle than scientists previously thought, a scientific study has opened up a whole new level of understanding of the functions of the brain. The first thing that matters to professionals in the work – learn more about how sleep is controlled, and to understand why some people awake all night suffering spasmodic convulsions.
The researchers used mice to test whether the injection of salt into the brain to control the cycles of sleep and wakefulness of the mice, regardless of neuromodulators. Neuromodulators are connections, for example, adrenaline, which plays a crucial role in the revival.
The work of scientists showed that the compounds alter the salt levels around the neurons. The result showed that the salt balance affects the sensitivity and stimulation of neurons – when a person is in the sleep mode, the neurons sensitive to stimulation, and when awake – because the salt balance impedes neuronal activation. Scientists have deduced that the analysis of neurons not only will help them comprehend the workings of the brain, but their study will help to combat the insomnia.
