Sleep on Demand: Optogenetic 'Local Sleep' Fulfills Brain Rejuvenation Without Unconsciousness (opens in new tab)

In an important new study published in , researchers have shattered the long-held scientific dogma that the restorative biological benefits of sleep can only be achieved through systemic, behavioral unconsciousness. Neuroscientists have historically recognized that non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep triggers a highly synchronized, low-frequency oscillation of cortical neurons alternating between bursts of activity (“on” periods) and stark silence (“off” periods). This slow-wave activity (SWA...