Scientists have discovered that small regions of the brain can take micro-naps while the rest of the brain is awake, leading to new insights into sleep patterns.
- Scientists have discovered that sleep can be detected by patterns of neuronal activity just milliseconds long, revealing a new way to study brain wave patterns governing consciousness.
- A study published in Nature Neuroscience shows that small regions of the brain can have momentary "flickers" of wakefulness while the rest of the brain is asleep, and vice versa.
- The research challenged long-held beliefs about sleep and wake, uncovering hyperfast patterns of brain activity that have never been described before.
- By studying hyperlocal patterns of brain activity, researchers found that flickers between wake and sleep can affect behavior and may provide insights into brain function.
- Understanding these patterns at high frequencies could lead to better research on neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases, ultimately advancing our understanding of the brain and its impact on behavior and emotion.
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Neurology, Psychiatry & Mental Health