Neuropharmacology of Sleep and Wakefulness

By C. J. Watson, H. Baghdoyan, R. Lydic. 2010

180 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Synopsis The development of sedative/hypnotic molecules has been empiric rather than rational. The empiric approach has produced clinically useful drugs but for no drug is the mechanism of action completely understood. All available sedative/hypnotic medications have unwanted side effects and none of these medications creates a sleep architecture that is identical to the architecture of naturally occurring sleep. This chapter reviews recent advances in research aiming to elucidate the neurochemical mechanisms regulating sleep and wakefulness. One promise of rational drug design is that understanding the mechanisms of sedative/hypnotic action will significantly enhance drug safety and efficacy.

Subfields: Cognitive Neuroscience, Endocrine and Autonomic Systems, Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

Citations in the corpus

• Replay in Deep Learning: Current Approaches and Missing Biological Elements (2021, neutral): “During sleep, there is a large change in the neuromodulatory tone for each sleep state across the entire brain (Brown, Basheer, McKenna, Strecker, & McCarley, 2012; McCormick, 1992; Watson, Baghdoyan, & Lydic, 2010).”