The brain structure which is involved in sleep mechanism
Answers
neurons(nerve cells) in the brain and brainstem produce a variety of nerve-signalling chemicals called neurotransmitters in different parts of the brain. These neurotransmitters in turn act on different groups of neurons in various parts of the brain, which control whether we are asleep or awake.
general, when the alerting areas of the brain are most active, they send arousal signals to the cerebral cortex (the outer layer of the brain that is responsible for learning, thinking, and organizing information), while at the same time inhibiting activity in other areas of the brain that are responsible for promoting sleep, resulting in a period of stable wakefulness. When the sleep-promoting areas of the brain are most active, on the other hand, they inhibit activity in areas of the brain responsible for promoting wakefulness, resulting in a period of stable sleep.
The ventrolateral preoptic nucleus (VLPO or VLPN) of the hypothalamus is one area of the brain that is particularly involved in the switch between wakefulness and sleep. Neurons in this small area help to promote sleep by inhibiting activity in areas of the brainstem that maintain wakefulness.
Another neurotransmitter, serotonin, is also released in the brain throughout the day, which has the effect of stimulating a particular area in the hypothalamus, which in turn inhibits a different part of the same organ, all of which has the effect of encouraging sleep.
Even more importantly, serotonin is used by the body to produce yet another hormone, melatonin, sometimes called the “ sleep hormone”, which is a major regulator our biological or circadian clock.