Narcolepsy
An article in the Scientific American, by Jerome M. Siegel, focused on a dangerous sleeping disorder called Narcolepsy. A Narcoleptic has Symptoms such as cataplexy, which is the loss of skeletal muscle tone, and always feeling sleepy during daytime hours. The people suffering from this disorder tend to feel as if they hadn't gone to sleep for 48 hours. In addition, they sleep poorly at night. Laughter, embarrassment, sudden anger, social interactions with strangers, and sexual intercourse may trigger a cataplectic attack. A Narcoleptic may even fall asleep at the most dangerous times. For example, driving a car with this untreated disorder puts a person at high risk of an automobile accident. The disorder makes it difficult for them to focus on specific things, such as schoolwork or work in the workplace. Sleep paralysis and hypnagognic hallucinations are among two other symptoms of narcolepsy. Sleep paralysis is an ability to move when you fall asleep or awaken. This occurs daily. On the other hand, hypnagogic hallucinations are dreamlike experiences during waking that sometimes incorporate elements of the environment. These symptoms occur when narcoleptics are most sleepy. In addition, not every perso
n suffers from the symptoms the same way. Another study by Frank Wu indicated that there was another group of nerve cells in the brainstem called the Locus Coeruleus. The locus coeruleus also plays a role in REM sleep and narcolepsy. It releases a neurotransmitter called norepinephrine, which communicates with another neurons. Both these nerve cells are active in animals in waking, but inactive when they’re in REM sleep. In REM sleep the reduced amount of motor neurons prevents them from moving or responding to their dreams. In cataplexy, the same reduction prevents the motor neurons from responding to a narcoleptics attempt to move. Non-Narcoleptics tend to begin to sleep with NREM sleep. After 90 minutes or so, they're in REM sleep. When this happens, they experience loss of muscle tone and dreamlike hallucinations that usually occur during REM sleep. Researchers stated that being sleepy is normal, but it’s the large amount of sleep in Narcoleptics that’s very abnormal. Siegel also supported his hypothesis by stating that the degeneration in dogs was in the amygdala. The amygdala is a brain structure involved in emotion and inducing sleep. The damage to the amygdala can cause the symptoms of narcolepsy by inappropriately activating brain-stem circuits that are undamaged. Also, this article point
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 897
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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