Unregistered User If this is not your name, click here.
		Contact Us | Order Now | Journals | Bookstore | Register a colleague
	Select a ChannelAcneAIDS and HIVAllergy OtherAlzheimer'sAnaesthesiology OtherAngina Pectoris/MIAnxietyArthritis OtherAsthmaBack PainBacterial InfectionsBladder CancerBone Marrow TransplantationBreast CancerCardiology OtherCataractCell TransplantationCervical CancerCholesterol/Lipid disordersCirrhosisClinical PharmacologyColorectal CancerCongestive Heart FailureContact DermatitisContraceptionCOPDCystic FibrosisDental and Oral DisordersDepressionDermatology OtherDiabetesDialysisEating DisordersElbowEmergency MedicineEndocrinology OtherEpilepsyErectile DysfunctionFibromyalgiaGastro OtherGeneticsGenitourinary OtherGeriatricsGERD/GastritisGlaucomaH. Pylori/UlcerHaematology OtherHair LossHeadachesHepa/Biliary OtherHepatitisHipHRTHypertensionIBDImmunologyInfectious OtherInfertilityIntensive CareIrritable Bowel SyndromeKneeLeukemiasLiver CancerLung CancerLupusLymphomasMelanomaMenopauseMultiple Sclerosis Nephrology OtherNeurologic OtherNutritional / Metabolic OtherOb/Gyn OtherObesityOncology OtherOphth. OtherOphthalmic SurgeryOrgan TransplantationOrthopaedics OtherOsteoarthritisOsteoporosisOtitisOtorhino. OtherOvarian CancerPaediatricsPainPancreatic CancerParkinson'sPregnancyProstate CancerPsychiatry OtherPulmonary OtherRadiologyRenal CancerRenal FailureRespiratory InfectionsRheumatoid arthritisRheumatology OtherRhinitisSchizophreniaShoulderSleep ApnoeaSleep DisordersSpineStrokeSTDsSurgeryThyroid DisordersTransfusionTransplant Surgery OtherTraumaUrinary IncontinenceUrinary tract infectionsVaccinologyVascular DisordersViral Infections

SEARCH   News Bookstore Medline The Web Meetings & Congresses Complete Doctor's Guide    EXPLORE :    All News   All Webcasts   All Cases   All Meetings & Congresses   All Medical Resources New drugs / indications English Dictionary Medical Dictionary Thesaurus Warning | Privacy | Awards  Favourite Journals  Click here to choose your favourite journals  Favourite Sites  Click here to choose your favourite sites  Languages  Select languageEnglishFrançais

SFN: Losing Sleep Impairs Frontal Cortex Function By Roberta Friedman, PhD NEW ORLEANS, LA -- November 14, 2003 -- Lack of a night's sleep is paid for the next day in impaired function of the frontal cortex, as measured by electroencephalograph (EEG) potentials. This finding was reported here November 11th by sleep researchers at the Society for Neuroscience 33rd Annual Meeting. Amplitudes of components of the EEG taken over the frontal and parietal cortex changed significantly in people kept awake in the lab overnight. According to study investigator Roger Godbout, PhD, professor of psychiatry, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada, "sleep deprivation has [a] specific impact on the frontal cortex." The findings of this study, he added, demonstrate "how sensitive different cortical systems [are] to a sleep disorder." Ten young, healthy volunteers spent a night in the lab, kept awake by playing cards and watching videos. Event-related potentials over frontal and parietal cortex the next day revealed different deficits, depending on whether tasks required accuracy or rapidity. If a novel choice appeared in 1 of the tests, a parietal-lobe potential related to novelty gained in magnitude after sleep deprivation. "When you are sleep-deprived, you are recruiting more parietal resources [because the frontal lobes are impaired]," said Dr. Godbout. "The parietal lobe counterbalances for lack of frontal function," Dr. Godbout stated. The frontal cortex is thought to govern so-called executive function, such as decision making, which matures only at the end of adolescence. The difference in parietal signal was statistically significant (P < .05), he said. Sleep deprivation also resulted in subjects using more frontal-cortex resources for accuracy. The event-related potential recorded over the frontal lobe of sleep-deprived subjects was more negative compared to that recorded after a normal night's sleep (P < .05). The next stage in the research will be to test different psychostimulant drugs to see how they affect these cortical signals, Dr. Godbout said. [Study Title: Effects of sleep deprivation on event-related brain potentials. Abstract 616.6] E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version