In the last few decades, scientists have discovered that far from being a time of neural silence, sleep is characterized by complex patterns of electrical, neurochemical, and metabolic activity in the brain. "Sleep and the Brain" presents some of the more dramatic developments in our understanding of brain activity in sleep. The book discusses what parts of the brain are active in sleep and how, and presents research on the function of sleep in memory, learning, and further brain development. Coverage encompasses the network and membrane mechanisms responsible for waking and sleeping brain activity, the roles of glial cells in the sleeping brain, the molecular basis of sleep EEG rhythms, and research on songbirds, rodents, and humans indicating the function of sleep.
Collates material dispersed across a wide gamut of primary literature into one placeFocuses on the most interesting and prolific research results on brain activity as it relates to sleepPractical real data discussion includes functional brain imaging and EEG research

The mystery of sleep has fascinated scientists for decades, yet despite great advances on several fronts, basic questions about sleep remain unanswered. What neural or somatic mechanisms govern the normal alternation between sleep and wakefulness? What genes control the quality and quantity of sleep? Do all animals sleep and if so, do similar biological mechanisms govern sleep in different animal species? And, perhaps most critically, what are the functions of sleep? In this book, leading scientists explore these fascinating questions by presenting their latest findings spanning a) neurological structures and genes underlying sleep expression b) interactions between sleep and the immune system c) the evolution of sleep in invertebrate species and d) the role of sleep in neurogenesis, macro-molecule synthesis and brain plasticity in both developing and adult animals.