Neurologists have been studying the human brain for years to determine what, exactly, powers off the senses for REM sleep. One team at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center may have finally pinpointed the culprit: a patch of nerves in the hypothalamus that activate in conjunction with healthy sleep.
These nerves are located in the ventrolateral preoptic nucleus (or VLPO) region of the hypothalamus. Clifford B. Saper, MD/PhD, has been studying these nerves for 20 years for concrete evidence, and his team’s most recent test has finally yielded it. Experimenting on lab mice, Dr. Saper found that, during REM sleep, the VLPO nerves were activated, and immediately deactivated upon waking. Not only that, but it was discovered that, when the VLPO nerves were damaged, the subject immediately began experiencing insomnia. The VLPO nerves also lower the subject’s body temperature upon activating, which explains why we like sleeping under a blanket.
This research could potentially lead to natural treatments for chronic insomnia and other sleep disorders.
