Rushil Surapaneni January 18th, 2017

Psych 133 Lecture Notes

Lecture #2: Sleep Basics
Measuring Sleep:
Three ways of measuring sleep are Phenomenology, Behavior, Physiology

Phenomenology:
Loss of external awareness, disconnected thoughts, disorientation in time & space, and
images & dreams.

Behavior:
Sleeping in horizontal position, leading to lower muscle tone, 24-hr (circadian) timing (day-
night), and non-responsive (but reversible).

Physiology:
This is the gold standard of measurement of sleep requiring you to assess changes in the
brain & the body.

How Do We Measure Sleep?

EEG, EOG, EMG are 3 elements to compose collective measure known as
polysomnography (PSG). This is a graph reading out sleep coming from multiple signals.
EEG measures electrical activity of the brain (i.e. brain waves)
EOG has an electrode placed near the eye which will record a change in voltage as the eye
moves (i.e. eye movements)
EMG measures electrical activity of the muscles, usually recorded from under the chin (i.e.
muscle tension)

Types of Sleep:
Non-Rapid Eye movement sleep (NREM):
o 4 stages that increase in depth in each stage. Sometimes Stage-3 and Stage-4 of
NREM are combined in one known as slow-wave sleep (SWS).
Rapid Eye movement sleep (REM):
o Horizontal eye movements that occur during sleep.
o Principal stage for which you dream.
NREM/REM only discovered in 1953 by Kleitman and Aserinsky.
NREM to REM sleep cycle occurs every 90 minutes in humans. Creates architecture of
sleep known as Hypnogram. In 1st half of night, lots of deep NREM sleep, but then in
2nd half of night, majority of 90 minutes are composed of REM and Stage-2 NREM.
REM sleep paralysis is when all nerve connections to your skeletal body muscle are
inhibited, causing paralysis.

What Does Sleep Look Like?

Awake:
o Eyes open w/ blinks, high frequency, low amplitude (small), and desychronized brain
waves, and strong muscle tone.

Stage 2 NREM:

1
Rushil Surapaneni January 18th, 2017
Psych 133 Lecture Notes
o Eye movement stop (slowly roll in Stage-1), slow frequency, higher amplitude
(larger), more synchronous brain waves along with special events (K-complex and
Sleep Spindles; a sleep spindle is an infrequent, short synchronous burst of electrical
activity that lasts for a second while a K-complex is a huge electrical shock in
electrical activity) in brain, and lowered muscle tone.
Stage 4 NREM:
o No eye movement, very slow frequency, very high amplitude, synchronous brain
waves, and lowered muscle tone.
REM Sleep:
o Eyes closed, but horizontal movements back and forth, higher frequency, low
amplitude, & desynchronized (like awake) brain waves, no muscle tone (atonia).

Lecture #3: Phylogeny

Insects:
For insects, you must study their behavior specifically:
o Circadian timing, horizontal position, low muscle tone, non-responsive (but
reversible) and sleep rebound after deprivation.
o For the honeybee, their sleep is characterized through reduced muscle tone, non-
responsive but reversible, circadian rhythm, and sleep rebound after deprivation.
Birds:
For birds, you must study their physiology.
Birds have physiologically confirmed cycles of NREM and REM sleep.
Unlike mammals, striking short cycles:
o NREM sleep episodes are around 2.5 minutes
o EM sleep episodes are around 8 seconds.
Most birds dont lose muscle tone during REM sleep as consistently as mammals.
Birds have a remarkable trick: Can sleep w/ half a brain unihemispheric sleep
of the brain sleep while the other stays awake; this only happens for NREM sleep and
both halves of the brain sleep during REM.
Unihemispheric sleep in humans is possible to a degree (one half of brain is a little bit more
awake, but not like birds.
Some birds have power naps (5-9 seconds) that helps w/ migration (transoceanic flights:
2000 3000 miles in 3 weeks).
Underscores the importance of sleep; i.e. even though migration is critical, sleep finds a way
to occur.
White crowned sparrow is a unique bird that can live with extreme amounts of sleep
deprivation without any impairment w/in its migratory phase, but outside its migratory
phase, sleep deprivation creates catastrophic results for the birds health.

Reptiles, Amphibians & Fish:

Show deep brain electrical activity indicative of NREM sleep (but difficult to equate to birds
and mammals).
Most studies failed to find REM sleep in amphibians and fish.
Arguable REM-like brain activity in reptiles (remains debated).

2
Rushil Surapaneni January 18th, 2017
Psych 133 Lecture Notes
Birds and mammals (have REM sleep) believed to have separately evolved from reptiles thus
REM sleep evolved independently in birds and mammals perhaps to satisfy some function (?)
that is common both (?), but not to reptiles.
Birds & mammals regulate body temperatures differently than reptiles (REM for
thermoregulation?).
Birds & mammals do this by increasing their metabolic rate to maintain a constant body
temperature in the cold reptiles cannot (REM for metabolic regulation?).

Mammals Humans:
The !Kung tribe in the Kalahari Desert sleep on ground or hard pallets, no pillows, collective
sleeping, minimal bedding avoids insects, and frequently take afternoon naps (esp. during dry
[hot] season).
Monophasic or Biphasic sleep:
o Most pre-industrial hunter-gatherer tribes had 30-60 min afternoon naps.
o Biologically hardwired dip in alertness in the middle of the day in all humans.
Enforced wake-up time:
o !Kung have no set wake time whereas Western cultures have an enforced wake-up
time that is a legacy of the industrial revolution.
Modern humans are not sleeping the way we were designed for which is co-sleeping,
biphasic, no wakeup time.

Lecture Summary:
Sleep is a fundamental necessity for all living organisms (even bacteria)
Most species display NREM activity, but REM appeared w/ the evolutionary emergence of
birds and mammals firmer regulation or allowance of firmer regulation through ability to
control metabolic rate.
Humans: Sleep behavior is very diverse, but in non-industrialized ancient cultures, it
appears to be a social activity, w/ no defined waking times, and w/ the possibility of a
biphasic cycle (long at night, short nap during day)

Lecture #4: Brain Mechanisms

Sleep Mechanisms:
Neurochemistry (substances)
Neurophysiology (electrical activity)
Functional Anatomy (brain activation)

Neurochemistry:
3 neurotransmitters critical for controlling sleep:
o Acetylcholine (ACh)
o Noradrenaline (NA)
o Serotonin (5-HT)
Three centers of all three transmitters reside in the brain stem and all go out into all parts
of the brain thus are ideally positioned to control sleep.

Neurophysiology:
Cortex: Information processing/perception

3
Rushil Surapaneni January 18th, 2017
Psych 133 Lecture Notes
Thalamus: Sensory gate w/in brain; stimulated by brainstem; information gate
Brainstem: Power station of the brain; all about making human alert & active
Steps while Awake:
o Brainstem turns on electrical brain power
o Information floods into brain from eyes, ears, nose etc.
o Information reaches cortex = aroused & attentive i.e. awake
NREM:
o 1. Brainstem turns off electrical brain power
o 2. Gate is closed, thus information cannot enter brain
o 3. No information feed to the cortex = fall asleep

REM:
o 1. Brainstem partly turns on power (ACh) but rest of body paralyzed.
o 2. Internal stimulation of the sensory gate
o 3. Memories, emotions, motivations are activated in the cortex, resulting in dream

What Does REM Sleep Look Like?

REM sleep associated w/ a distinctive electrical brain bursts known as PGO waves
These waves of neural activity are detected first in the Pons (brainstem) and then in the
Geniculate of the thalamus and then the Occipital cortex (& other sensory-motor areas).
PGO waves coincide (& may cause) the rapid eye movements of REM. PGO waves
coincide w/ a scene change in the dream.

Functional Anatomy:
Measured using brain scanners; either a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) or fMRI.
Areas activated in REM sleep are the Cingulate cortex (emotional regulation), Motor
cortex (movement initiation), Hippocampus (memory), Amygdala (emotion), and
Occipital Cortex (complex visual processing) however Lateral Prefrontal Cortex (logical
reasoning) is de-activated during REM sleep.
While EEG gives a non-specific window on brain activity, neuroimaging indicates that,
during REM, emotional, visual and memory areas increase in activity, yet logical
reasoning areas decrease in activity (clue to dreaming?)

Lecture Summary:
Sleep controlled by very specific neurobiology e.g. changes in neurochemistry,
neurophysiology, and functional anatomy.
Neurochemical: Awake, NREM & REM involve changes in 3 neuromodulators
Acetylcholine, Noradrenaline, Serotonin
Neurophysiological: These chemical changes control ascending activity from brainstem-
thalamus-cortex, resulting in the unique EEG patterns of sleep.
Functional Anatomy: While EEG gives a non-specific window on brain activity,
neuroimaging indicate that, during REM, emotional, visual and memory areas increase in
activity, yet logical reasoning areas decrease activity ( clues to dreaming?)

Lecture #5: Circadian Rhythms

Circadian Rhythms:

4
Rushil Surapaneni January 18th, 2017
Psych 133 Lecture Notes
What is a circadian rhythm? circa = about, dies = day
Rhythms w/ an approximately 24-hr cycle length that are endogenous in origin (meaning
generated from w/in the body)
Circadian rhythms help regulate the sleep/wake cycle, regulate eating & drinking, body
temperature and hormone release (even urine volume and births and deaths), and every living
species shows a 24-hr circadian rhythm.
We have them b/c they allow living species to synchronize (behavior and internal biology) w/
the 24-hr light/dark rotation of the Earth.
First Demonstration:
Discovered by French geophysicist Jean Jacques dOrtous de Mairan who studied leaf
movements of a heliotrope plant across the 24-hr period (Darwin called them sleeping
leaves).
Discovered the persistence of circadian rhythms in absence of external cues (e.g. light).
In 1938, Kleitman and Richardson spent 6 weeks in Mammoth Cave, Kentucky (worlds
longest cave).
At the time some scientists believed our sleep/wake rhythm was controlled by sunlight.
They examined what happened to their sleep/wake schedule in the total absence of light.
Richardson (younger) developed +24-hr day (between 26-28hr/day) w/ 9-hr sleep periods.
Kleitman (older) had a harder adjusting and stuck close to 24-hr.
Human circadian clock generates a rhythm slightly longer than 24 hours when it has no
external cue to set it.
Current estimate is 24 hour and 10 minutes for most humans.

Rhythms of Waking & Sleep:

The master 24-hr (circadian) clock regulating biological rhythms is the suprachiasmatic
nucleus (SCN) of the brain; SCN is part of the hypothalamus.
SCN regulates wake and sleep by controlling levels of activity in the brain and body.
One route SCN uses to communicate its 24-hr message to brain is melatonin (Darkness
Hormone) from the pincal gland.
Melatonin secretion usually beings around 2 hours before bed and remains high across night
and suppressed during day.
Melatonin is chemical messenger of the circadian rhythm, including timing of our wake-
sleep cycle.
Since biological clock is imperfect (24 hr 10 min), needs to be reset to precisely 24 hr.
A zeitgeber is a term used to describe any stimulus that resets our daily circadian rhythm to
precisely 24 hr.
Light is the most important zeitgeber b/c it is the most reliable 24 hr signal.

Disrupting the Circadian Rhythm:

Jet lag: Jet engines transport you through time zone much faster than your circadian rhythm
can keep up w/.
For every hour that your shift out of your time zone, it takes about one day to readjust.
Melatonin secretion usually begins 2-3 hr before bed.
Melatonin impacts the brain and body, including feedback to reset the sleep-wake rhythms
through effects on the SCN, i.e. signals light/dark.

5
Rushil Surapaneni January 18th, 2017
Psych 133 Lecture Notes
Melatonin pills: Can phase advance the internal clock (i.e. like winding a clock forward),
helping you sleep in the new time zone at night.

Two-Process Model of Sleep-Wake Regulation:

This circadian factor or process (aka Process-C) is the first (of two) governing sleep-
wake rhythms.
As the circadian rhythm increases, our drive to be awake increases (& vice versa).

Lecture Summary:
All living species, including humans, express circadian rhythms, which synchronize
biological processes (e.g. wake-sleep) to a daily cycle, principally controlled by the
suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)
However, these endogenous (self-paced) circadian rhythms are not precisely 24-hrs, and
therefore need environmental cues (zeitgebers) to reset them to 24-hrs, light being the most
influential of these.
The SCN controls sleep-wake timing via several routes, including the release of melatonin,
which informs the brain of light and dark.
But circadian rhythms are only part of the story in controlling when we wake and sleep.
There are two facts: 1) Circadian and 2) Process-S .

Lecture #6: Sleep Pressure & Sleep Ontogeny

Two Process Model of Sleep-Wake Regulation:

This circadian factor or process (aka Process-C) is the first (of two) governing sleep-
wake rhythms.
As the circadian rhythm increases, our drive to be awake increases (and vice versa)
The second determining factor is the amount of elapsed time since you woke up (known
as Process-S, or the drive to sleep).
The longer youre awake, the more pressure there is to sleep
The chemical that causes this sleep pressure is called adenosine.
Greatest urge to sleep = Greatest distance between Process-S and Process-C.
When we sleep, we dissipate adenosine (decreasing sleep pressure, or Process-S)
Caffeine blocks/masks the signal of adenosine and therefore fools your brain into thinking
youve not been awake for as long as you have.
Sleep Deprivation Explained:
o Pulling the all-nighter: Feel really bad around 4-5 AM
o Start to feel better around 11 AM due to Process-C
o Feel utterly miserable at 11 PM due to both Process-C and S

Sleep Ontogeny:
Sleep over the lifespan I: Total sleep amounts and patterns:
o Newborn infant has highly poly-phasic, unstructured sleep
o In 1 year old, poly-phasic sleep
o In 4 year old, biphasic sleep
o 10 year old and adults both have monophasic sleep
Sleep over the lifespan II: WAKE: REM: NREM ratio changes:

6
Rushil Surapaneni January 18th, 2017
Psych 133 Lecture Notes
o 0-2 years old: High amount of total sleep, beginning high amounts of REM,
increasing amounts of NREM.
o Brain activity during REM sleep acts like an electrical fertilizer, stimulating the
development of neural connections.
o 2-20 years old: Decreasing total sleep, stabilization of NREM: REM ratio (4:1)
o 20-90 years old: Decreasing total sleep (40-50 years), stable NREM: REM ratio (4:1).
Sleep over the lifespan III: Architecture changes:
o Child (around 7 years): Greater slow-wave sleep (SWS) amount, few if any
awakenings, somewhat more REM.
o Elderly (around 75 years): Absence of SWS, increased awakenings, reduced REM
o More consolidated, deeper SWS early in life, more fragmented/shallow late in life.