Sleep and Mental Health

MBB 980T Subject & Catalog Number

Description

The scientific study of sleep is an area of research that is both highly diverse and among the most interdisciplinary and unifying of topics in psychology and neuroscience. In the past several decades, exciting new discoveries on the neurobiology of sleep have been facilitated by technologies such as functional neuroimaging and molecular genetics. Nonetheless, sleep remains mysterious and controversial and, remarkably, there still is no generally agreed upon function for this behavioral state that occupies one third of our lives! Sleep science exemplifies the translational approach in biomedical science whereby human and animal research together continually advance the field of sleep medicine. In this seminar, lectures during the first half of each class will provide overviews of the physiology and behavioral neuroscience of sleep.The second half of each class will be devoted to student-led discussions of assigned study questions as well as free discussions. In a short term paper, students will research in depth a topic of their choice that they find particularly interesting related to sleep neuroscience or mental health.Students will also briefly present what they have learned about their topic during the final class meetings. Some topics students might choose are described in the following paragraph. In addition, students will keep a nightly sleep and/or dream diary for 2-3weeks at some point during the semester in order to learn more about sleep from their own experiences.They will then describe what they have observed in a short essay.In the past, students have found this exercise to be especially interesting. Lastly, there will be a short open-book, unlimited-time final exam on material from the lectures.Topics for term papers might include the characteristic abnormalities of sleep in mood, anxiety, psychotic, addictive or neurodevelopmental disorders.Scientific findings increasingly point to the importance of sleep for mental health and optimum performance, as well as to sleep disruption as both a result and a contributing cause of mental illnesses. Thus,one might focus on the contribution of primary sleep disorders to psychiatric and neurological illness,such as the circadian rhythm disorders in bipolar illness or insomnia as a risk factor for mood and anxiety disorders. Still other topics might focus on the contribution of normal sleep to emotional regulation, memory consolidation, and cognitive performance. For those with more cellular neuroscience interests, topics might focus on linkages between sleep and immunity or the role of sleep in disposal of abnormal proteinsas it relates to neurodegenerative diseases.