Abstract

The Functions of Sleep is the result of a symposium held in New Mexico in 1977. The objective of the said symposium is to clarify and ultimately answer questions regarding the functions of sleep. Many perspectives are presented in the attempt to answer the main question of the function of sleep, including the examination of the developmental, neurophysiological, metabolic, behavioral, and clinical correlates of normal and disturbed sleep.
The first two chapters focus on the previous studies done regarding the functions of sleep, specifically the methodological issues and clinical implications of the theories. This book also emphasizes the study of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and its different aspects such as reticular formation activity, motivational function, regulation, and growth hormone secretion. Other topics covered in this book include the interrelations of human sleep in terms of neuroendocrine and neuropharmacologic; ontogenetic and clinical studies; sleep pathologies; and brain state and memory.
Sleep can be studied in a wide range of scientific fields. Students and researchers in the fields of biology, psychology, neurology, psychobiology, and medicine will find this book very useful.