Sleep Deprivation

The number of hours slept within a 24-hour time period is related to reduced ability to accurately and efficiently complete cognitive tasks and increases in problem behaviors (e.g., agitation, daytime drowsiness, or learning problems). Sleep deprivation is most often the result of environmental determinants (e.g., ambient temperature or noisy sleeping environments), organic causes (e.g., craniofacial abnormalities), or health issues (e.g., allergies or seizures). The etiology of sleep deprivation and related sleep problems is a complex interaction of the gene-brain-behavior relation having wide implications for behavior, cognition, and health.

Animal models often are used to analyze the deleterious effects of sleep deprivation on gene-brainbehavior processes. Animal models are necessary to identify the mechanism by which sleep deprivation affects behavior because direct manipulation of sleep in ...