The interconnected causes and consequences of sleep in the brain

Sleep is essential for brain function in a surprisingly diverse set of ways. In the short term, lack of sleep leads to impaired memory and attention; in the longer term, it produces neurological dysfunction or even death. I discuss recent advances in understanding how sleep maintains the physiologic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2021-10, Vol.374 (6567), p.564-568
Main Author: Lewis, Laura D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Blood flow
Brain
Brain - blood supply
Brain - physiology
Brain Waves - physiology
Cerebrospinal fluid
Cerebrospinal Fluid - physiology
Cerebrovascular Circulation
Fluid dynamics
Fluid flow
Humans
Hydrodynamics
Neural Pathways - physiology
Neurological complications
Neurons - physiology
Sleep
Sleep - physiology
Sleep deprivation
Sleep Stages - physiology
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Summary:Sleep is essential for brain function in a surprisingly diverse set of ways. In the short term, lack of sleep leads to impaired memory and attention; in the longer term, it produces neurological dysfunction or even death. I discuss recent advances in understanding how sleep maintains the physiological health of the brain through interconnected systems of neuronal activity and fluid flow. The neural dynamics that appear during sleep are intrinsically coupled to its consequences for blood flow, cerebrospinal fluid dynamics, and waste clearance. Recognizing these linked causes and consequences of sleep has shed new light on why sleep is important for such disparate aspects of brain function.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.abi8375