Partial sleep in the context of augmentation of brain function.
Inability to solve complex problems or errors in decision making is often attributed to poor brain processing, and raises the issue of brain augmentation. Investigation of neuronal activity in the cerebral cortex in the sleep-wake cycle offers insights into the mechanisms underlying the reduction in...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2014-05-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnsys.2014.00075/full |
| _version_ | 1823933011528253440 |
|---|---|
| author | Ivan N. Pigarev Marina L. Pigareva |
| author_facet | Ivan N. Pigarev Marina L. Pigareva |
| author_sort | Ivan N. Pigarev |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Inability to solve complex problems or errors in decision making is often attributed to poor brain processing, and raises the issue of brain augmentation. Investigation of neuronal activity in the cerebral cortex in the sleep-wake cycle offers insights into the mechanisms underlying the reduction in mental abilities for complex problem solving. Some cortical areas may transit into a sleep state while an organism is still awake. Such local sleep would reduce behavioral ability in the tasks for which the sleeping areas are crucial. The studies of this phenomenon have indicated that local sleep develops in high order cortical areas. This is why complex problem solving is mostly affected by local sleep, and prevention of local sleep might be a potential way of augmentation of brain function. For this approach to brain augmentation not to entail negative consequences for the organism, it is necessary to understand the functional role of sleep. Our studies have given an unexpected answer to this question. It was shown that cortical areas that process signals from extero- and proprioreceptors during wakefulness, switch to the processing of interoceptive information during sleep. It became clear that during sleep all computational power of the brain is directed to the restoration of the vital functions of internal organs. These results explain the logic behind the initiation of total and local sleep. Indeed, a mismatch between the current parameters of any visceral system and the genetically determined normal range would provide the feeling of tiredness, or sleep pressure. If an environmental situation allows falling asleep, the organism would transit to a normal total sleep in all cortical areas. However, if it is impossible to go to sleep immediately, partial sleep may develop in some cortical areas in the still behaviorally awake organism. This local sleep may reduce both the intellectual power and the restorative function of sleep for visceral organs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-16T22:00:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-15b979f50aa04dc6a48f88ec2cde4701 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-5137 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-16T22:00:19Z |
| publishDate | 2014-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-15b979f50aa04dc6a48f88ec2cde47012022-12-21T22:14:38ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience1662-51372014-05-01810.3389/fnsys.2014.0007582339Partial sleep in the context of augmentation of brain function.Ivan N. Pigarev0Marina L. Pigareva1Institute for Information Transmission Problems (Kharkevich Institute), Russian Academy of sciencesInstitute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology, Russian Academy of SciencesInability to solve complex problems or errors in decision making is often attributed to poor brain processing, and raises the issue of brain augmentation. Investigation of neuronal activity in the cerebral cortex in the sleep-wake cycle offers insights into the mechanisms underlying the reduction in mental abilities for complex problem solving. Some cortical areas may transit into a sleep state while an organism is still awake. Such local sleep would reduce behavioral ability in the tasks for which the sleeping areas are crucial. The studies of this phenomenon have indicated that local sleep develops in high order cortical areas. This is why complex problem solving is mostly affected by local sleep, and prevention of local sleep might be a potential way of augmentation of brain function. For this approach to brain augmentation not to entail negative consequences for the organism, it is necessary to understand the functional role of sleep. Our studies have given an unexpected answer to this question. It was shown that cortical areas that process signals from extero- and proprioreceptors during wakefulness, switch to the processing of interoceptive information during sleep. It became clear that during sleep all computational power of the brain is directed to the restoration of the vital functions of internal organs. These results explain the logic behind the initiation of total and local sleep. Indeed, a mismatch between the current parameters of any visceral system and the genetically determined normal range would provide the feeling of tiredness, or sleep pressure. If an environmental situation allows falling asleep, the organism would transit to a normal total sleep in all cortical areas. However, if it is impossible to go to sleep immediately, partial sleep may develop in some cortical areas in the still behaviorally awake organism. This local sleep may reduce both the intellectual power and the restorative function of sleep for visceral organs.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnsys.2014.00075/fullREM sleepLocal sleepslow wave sleepsleep functionvisceral control |
| spellingShingle | Ivan N. Pigarev Marina L. Pigareva Partial sleep in the context of augmentation of brain function. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience REM sleep Local sleep slow wave sleep sleep function visceral control |
| title | Partial sleep in the context of augmentation of brain function. |
| title_full | Partial sleep in the context of augmentation of brain function. |
| title_fullStr | Partial sleep in the context of augmentation of brain function. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Partial sleep in the context of augmentation of brain function. |
| title_short | Partial sleep in the context of augmentation of brain function. |
| title_sort | partial sleep in the context of augmentation of brain function |
| topic | REM sleep Local sleep slow wave sleep sleep function visceral control |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnsys.2014.00075/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ivannpigarev partialsleepinthecontextofaugmentationofbrainfunction AT marinalpigareva partialsleepinthecontextofaugmentationofbrainfunction |