PSYC 211 Chapter Notes - Chapter 9.3: Oxidative Stress, Zolpidem, Insomnia
3 Jun 2016
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Some maladaptive behaviours occur during slow-wave sleep, especially during sleep stage 4. The behaviours include nocturnal enuresis, or bed-wetting, somnambulism, and night terrors or pavor nocturnus: all three occur most frequently in children. Bed-wetting can be cured by training methods, for example, having a special electronic circuit ring a bell when the first few drops of urine are detected. It may be provoked by zolpidem, a benzodiazepine agonist used to treat insomnia: heredity may also play a role. With the exception of the effects of severe pain and the need to breathe, sleepiness is probably the most insistent drive that we can experience. Sleep will always come, sooner or later: most researchers believe that the primary function of slow-wave sleep is to permit the brain to rest. In addition, slow-wave sleep and rem sleep promote different types of learning, and rem sleep appears to promote brain development.
