Hypothalamic regulation of sleep and circadian rhythms

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Abstract

A series of findings over the past decade has begun to identify the brain circuitry and neurotransmitters that regulate our daily cycles of sleep and wakefulness. The latter depends on a network of cell groups that activate the thalamus and the cerebral cortex. A key switch in the hypothalamus shuts off this arousal system during sleep. Other hypothalamic neurons stabilize the switch, and their absence results in inappropriate switching of behavioural states, such as occurs in narcolepsy. These findings explain how various drugs affect sleep and wakefulness, and provide the basis for a wide range of environmental influences to shape wake-sleep cycles into the optimal pattern for survival.

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Orexins and Orexin Receptors: A Family of Hypothalamic Neuropeptides and G Protein-Coupled Receptors that Regulate Feeding Behavior

Takeshi Sakurai, Akira Amemiya, Makoto Ishii … (1998)

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Coordination of circadian timing in mammals.

Steven Reppert, David Weaver (2002)

Time in the biological sense is measured by cycles that range from milliseconds to years. Circadian rhythms, which measure time on a scale of 24 h, are generated by one of the most ubiquitous and well-studied timing systems. At the core of this timing mechanism is an intricate molecular mechanism that ticks away in many different tissues throughout the body. However, these independent rhythms are tamed by a master clock in the brain, which coordinates tissue-specific rhythms according to light input it receives from the outside world.