Sleep-Wake Regulation and Its Impact on Working Memory Performance: The Role of Adenosine.

ABSTRACT: The sleep-wake cycle is regulated by a fine-tuned interplay between sleep-homeostatic and circadian mechanisms. Compelling evidence suggests that adenosine plays an important role in mediating the increase of homeostatic sleep pressure during time spent awake and its decrease during sleep. Here, we summarize evidence that adenosinergic mechanisms regulate not only the dynamic of sleep pressure, but are also implicated in the interaction of homeostatic and circadian processes. We review how this interaction becomes evident at several levels, including electrophysiological data, neuroimaging studies and behavioral observations. Regarding complex human behavior, we particularly focus on sleep-wake regulatory influences on working memory performance and underlying brain activity, with a specif

SUBMITTER: Reichert CF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4810168 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature