Biomaterial Database

The suprachiasmatic nucleus and sleep-wake regulation. 2004

Robert Y Moore

Department of Neurology and Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. rym@pitt.edu

Human behavior is organized into 24-hour cycles that are typically composed of about 16 hours of wakefulness and about 8 hours of sleep. Sleep is an essential behavior and is critical for maintaining normal adaptive waking behavior. Both sleep and wake are initiated and maintained by separate and specific neural systems. The sleep-wake cycle is a function of 2 processes--a homeostatic drive for sleep that increases throughout the waking day and an opposing circadian influence that promotes wakefulness centered in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). A better understanding of the basis for sleep can help treatment and direct research about sleep.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008027	Light	That portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the visible, ultraviolet, and infrared range.	Light, Visible,Photoradiation,Radiation, Visible,Visible Radiation,Photoradiations,Radiations, Visible,Visible Light,Visible Radiations
D002940	Circadian Rhythm	The regular recurrence, in cycles of about 24 hours, of biological processes or activities, such as sensitivity to drugs or environmental and physiological stimuli.	Diurnal Rhythm,Nyctohemeral Rhythm,Twenty-Four Hour Rhythm,Nycthemeral Rhythm,Circadian Rhythms,Diurnal Rhythms,Nycthemeral Rhythms,Nyctohemeral Rhythms,Rhythm, Circadian,Rhythm, Diurnal,Rhythm, Nycthemeral,Rhythm, Nyctohemeral,Rhythm, Twenty-Four Hour,Rhythms, Circadian,Rhythms, Diurnal,Rhythms, Nycthemeral,Rhythms, Nyctohemeral,Rhythms, Twenty-Four Hour,Twenty Four Hour Rhythm,Twenty-Four Hour Rhythms
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D012890	Sleep	A readily reversible suspension of sensorimotor interaction with the environment, usually associated with recumbency and immobility.	Sleep Habits,Sleeping Habit,Sleeping Habits,Habit, Sleep,Habit, Sleeping,Habits, Sleep,Habits, Sleeping,Sleep Habit
D013493	Suprachiasmatic Nucleus	An ovoid densely packed collection of small cells of the anterior hypothalamus lying close to the midline in a shallow impression of the OPTIC CHIASM.	Hypothalamic Suprachiasmatic Nuclei,Hypothalamic Suprachiasmatic Nucleus,Suprachiasmatic Nuclei,Suprachiasmatic Nuclei, Hypothalamic,Suprachiasmatic Nucleus, Hypothalamic
D014851	Wakefulness	A state in which there is an enhanced potential for sensitivity and an efficient responsiveness to external stimuli.	Wakefulnesses