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Hachinski Vladimir, MD

Arch Neurol. 1985;42(6):602.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

When asleep, the brain generates electrophysiologic patterns far more complex than when awake. The chronologic architecture of nighttime and daytime electroencephalography compares in complexity as a cathedral to a cottage. And yet, little is known about sleep disorders beyond a few syndromes. Insomnia, hypersomnia, and sleep apnea sum up most of what we know. Psychiatrists and family physicians usually deal with insomnia, neurologists most often manage narcolepsy, and sleep apnea remains a divided realm among internists, otolaryngologists, and others. The contributors to this controversy disagree more in approach than in conclusions. Dr Culebras emphasizes brain mechanisms and Dr Mitler surveys those who actually look after patients with sleep disorders.

The potential for assessing the damaged brain by polysomnography in head injury¹ and in stroke² has not been fully explored. Moreover, recent evidence that dream sleep promotes desirable reversed learning³ and that prostaglandin D2 may be a natural soporific⁴ makes sleep medicine a promising field. . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Footnotes
Accepted for publication Nov 8, 1984.

Reprint requests to Sleep Disorders Center, Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation, 10666 N Torrey Pines Rd, La Jolla, CA 92037 (Dr Mitler).

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