SLEEP-WAKE AS A BIOLOGICAL RHYTHM (original) (raw)

Key Words sleep-wake rhythms, free-running rhythms, light, melatonin s Abstract Evidence that the sleep-wake rhythm is generated endogenously has been provided by studies employing a variety of experimental paradigms such as sleep deprivation, sleep displacement, isolating subjects in environments free of time cues, or imposing on subjects sleep-wake schedules widely deviating from 24 hours. The initial observations obtained in isolated subjects revealed that the period of the en-dogenous circadian pacemaker regulating sleep is of approximately 25 hours. More recent studies, however, in which a more rigorous control of subjects' behavior was exerted, particularly over lighting conditions, have shown that the true periodicity of the endogenous pacemaker deviates from 24 hours by a few minutes only. Besides sleep propensity, the circadian pacemaker has been shown to regulate sleep consolidation , sleep stage structure, and electroencephalographic activities. The pattern of light exposure throughout the 24 hours appears to participate in the entrainment of the circadian pacemaker to the geophysical day-night cycle. Melatonin, the pineal hormone produced during the dark hours, participates in communicating both between the environmental light-dark cycle and the circadian pacemaker, and between the circa-dian pacemaker and the sleep-wake-generating mechanism. In contrast to prevailing views that have placed great emphasis on homeostatic sleep drive, recent data have revealed a potent circadian cycle in the drive for wakefulness, which is generated by the suprachiasmatic nucleus. This drive reaches a peak during the evening hours just before habitual bedtime. CONTENTS