Reversing Sleep Deprivation With A Whiff Of Orexin-A

This article could appeal to the beleaguered hospital intern or student of the week during finals, both in times of the need to combat sleep deprivation. The loss of neurons that produce the hypothalamic orexin-A causes narcolepsy, and the administration of orexin-A produces excitation and increased attention.


This week, Dead Wyler et al . Further evidence that orexin-A can combat the effects of sleep deprivation. Adult rhesus monkeys were deprived of sleep for 30-36 h with a combination of video, music, sweets, soft rattling their cages, and the constant monitoring by laboratory employees. Sounds a lot like a college dormitory.


The monkeys were then tested on a delayed match - to-sample short-term memory task. Monkeys received orexin-A, in particular by intranasal spray, showed a better performance.

The differences were apparent for most experiments, as a strong strain of cognitive processes. The superiority of intranasal delivery May be useful for potential clinical applications.


"Calcium and Recruitment vesicles at the calyx of Held"

Nobutake Hosoi, Takeshi Sakaba and Erwin Neher < br>
The Journal of Neuroscience ", 26 December 2007, 27 (52)

Click here to view abstract online


Sara Harris

Society for Neuroscience