2023-08-25 04:00:07
Who among you has never envied those people who need very little sleep? Know that scientists might make your dream come true! A group of researchers has just discovered the secret to staying awake longer, without having the side effects of sleep deprivation (Sleep is a natural recurring state of loss of consciousness (but without loss of. ..), such as fatigue or decline in brain health.
Image d’illustration Pixabay
In their research, scientists at the University of Washington State actually identified that certain brain cells, called astrocytes, have the power to act on sleep control. Tests carried out on mice (The term mouse is an ambiguous vernacular name which can designate, for French speakers, before…) show that the activation (Activation can refer to:) of these cells manages to maintain the animal (An animal (from the Latin animus, spirit, or vital principle) is, according to the classical classification, a…) awake much longer, without becoming more drowsy. Among the analyzes carried out, nothing differentiated these mice from another group of mice having had a habitual sleep. Beyond the lack of side effects, there was no subsequent change in the length or intensity of sleep that followed.
The cells in question, astrocytes, are cells that interact with neurons, which themselves transmit various electrical signals. Recent studies have already demonstrated that these cells play an active role in many processes. In the present study, the researchers succeeded in activating them through the use of chemogenetics, and the result found suggests that our need for sleep is not only associated with the duration of the preceding period of wakefulness, but it would also be linked to the functioning of these cells!
The conclusions of this research, recently published in the Journal of Neuroscience, make it possible to imagine many applications, in particular the possibility of taking medication that improves the productivity and even the safety of workers, or even for people who have to work for long periods. (medical, military, etc.).
It now remains for researchers to understand how these astrocytes interact with neurons, and to identify whether the activation of these cells might have other possible impacts, on attention, learning, memory (Generally speaking, memory is the storage of information. It is also the memory…), or the immune function for example.
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