Partial sleep in the context of augmentation of brain function

Abstract

Inability to solve complex problems or errors in decision making is often attributed to poor brain processing, and raises the issue of brain augmentation. Investigation of neuronal activity in the cerebral cortex in the sleep-wake cycle offers insights into the mechanisms underlying the reduction in mental abilities for complex problem solving. Some cortical areas may transit into a sleep state while an organism is still awake. Such local sleep would reduce behavioral ability in the tasks for which the sleeping areas are crucial. The studies of this phenomenon have indicated that local sleep develops in high order cortical areas. This is why complex problem solving is mostly affected by local sleep, and prevention of local sleep might be a potential way of augmentation of brain function. For this approach to brain augmentation not to entail negative consequences for the organism, it is necessary to understand the functional role of sleep. Our studies have given an unexpected answer to this question. It was shown that cortical areas that process signals from extero- and proprioreceptors during wakefulness, switch to the processing of interoceptive information during sleep. It became clear that during sleep all “computational power” of the brain is directed to the restoration of the vital functions of internal organs. These results explain the logic behind the initiation of total and local sleep. Indeed, a mismatch between the current parameters of any visceral system and the genetically determined normal range would provide the feeling of tiredness, or sleep pressure. If an environmental situation allows falling asleep, the organism would transit to a normal total sleep in all cortical areas. However, if it is impossible to go to sleep immediately, partial sleep may develop in some cortical areas in the still behaviorally awake organism. This local sleep may reduce both the “intellectual power” and the restorative function of sleep for visceral organs.

Sleep memory processing: the sequential hypothesis

“…It may also be worth noting that after a waking experience brain activity keeps on acquiring new percepts in addition to processing waking percepts. Notably during sleep brain cortical regions are not exclusively involved in processing environmental information; they are also busy receiving and processing stimuli largely derived from the gastrointestinal tract (Pigarev, 1994 ; Pigarev et al, 2013 ; Pigarev and Pigarev, 2014 ). It follows that heterogeneous synaptic populations analyzed by random methods may include synaptic elements that are not related to waking memories.…”

Probable Mechanism of Antiepileptic Effect of the Vagus Nerve Stimulation in the Context of the Recent Results in Sleep Research

“…This opinion may meet disagreement based on a doubt concerning the increased involvement of the cerebral cortex in the processing of visceral information during sleep. Our view is based on electrophysiological experiments performed in rabbits, cats, and monkeys (see for review, e.g., Pigarev, 2014;Pigarev and Pigareva, 2014). However, results of these studies are not widely known yet, most likely because their subject, being located between three very different disciplines-classical sensory physiology, physiology of the visceral systems and sleep research, usually slips attention of the corresponding three groups of researchers.…”

“…It is known that local or partial sleep also starts developing from these cortical areas (Pigarev et al, 1997). According to the visceral theory of sleep (Pigarev and Pigareva, 2014) development of the local sleep in limited parts of the cerebral cortex indicates the onset of visceral information transfer to those cortical areas while behaviorally this state correspond to wakefulness or drowsiness. In addition, it was reported that epileptic attacks often happen during developing drowsiness (Mirzoev et al, 2012).…”

Visceral theory of sleep and origins of mental disorders

“…For example, it is a well known fact that in conditions when it is necessary to remain awake in spite of high natural sleep pressure a local sleep develops in high order cortical areas. At that simple behavioral activities, which do not need engagement of the highest cortical resources, are still maintained even when part of the brain is sleeping [19]. It is evident that to ensure such a brain plasticity in information processing more complex gating system is needed than shown in Fig.…”