Neuroendocrine Correlates of Sleep/Wakefulness

As the title suggests, and unlike other existing books on sleep medicine, Neuroendocrine Correlates of Sleep/Wakefulness will be devoted primarily to endocrine regulation of the behavioral state control. It will address a wide spectrum of sleep./wakefulness phenomena (both animals and humans), including pathogenesis, diagnosis, and management.

From molecular biology to applied clinical therapy, sleep research has been transformed in the last few years from a research backwater to an important interdisciplinary field.

Anyone who regularly reads the literature on sleep, biological rhythms, or neuroendocrinology is aware that one of the subspecialties within sleep medicine, the neuroendocrine correlates of sleep/wakefulness, has in particular experienced a growth rate that is even faster than that of the field as a whole. To a significant extent this has been due to the introduction of new research technologies.

The widespread adoption of a range of new methods in sleep research has opened a window into activities at the cellular and molecular level, which previously had been tightly closed. Consequently these activities are being characterized with a degree of precision and sensitivity that is without precedent. This volume invites the reader to explore the new vistas that have been opened onto the neuroendocrine frontier of sleep medicine. The editors have selectively identified a number of key articles having a citation frequency, which is considerably above the norm or which otherwise have contributed importantly to defining the neuroendocrine perspective.

This new volume on Neuroendocrine Correlates of Sleep/Wakefulness is an up-to-date resource of research summaries and reviews written by major contributors to the fields of sleep, biological rhythms and neuroendocrinology. Its coverage is broad and its basic

and clinical science reviews are detailed.

In this volume,an international team of experts discuss their latest ideas, concepts, methods, and interpretations with supporting examples. This volume is intended for advanced students and specialists in psychobiology, neuroscience, neuroendocrinology, and psychiatry but might also be interest to anyone concerned with understanding the Neuroendocrine correlates of sleep/wakefulness.

The contributions are directed more towards providing an integrated view of the field from the perspective of the authors, rather than being a compendium of recent results. The intent is to provide a reference book for recent and future workers in this and related areas of medicine and biology. Each topic in this volume has received the attention of a panel of authors who have responded to our request to review and place into perspective the major issues, which will undoubtedly confront newcomers to the field.

The topics dealt with in Neuroendocrine correlates of Sleep/wakefulness are both diverse and complex. The editors hope that this volume will provide an authoritative summary of important issues in the neuroendocrine correlates of sleep/wakefulness. We also hope that it will motivate new researchers to join the quest for solutions to the problems that have been identified by our contributing authors.

"A fascinating set of reviews, many of theoretical interest or practical import.  21st Century neurobiology will concentrate on modulating arousal states, as examined in this book.  Further, the subject is amenable to thorough genetic analysis, this providing a useful output for modern molecular neurobiology."

Donald W. Pfaff, Ph.D., The Rockefeller University

"Sleep is an essential biological activity that is intimately connected to the neuroendocrine, autonomic and immune systems of the body. Written by an international cadre of researchers, this timely volume gives an up-to-date summary of the reciprocal influences of sleep-waking activity on neuroendocrine, autonomic and immune function. Chapters in this volume discuss the many mediators involved in sleep regulation, the consequences of sleep deprivation and shift work and dysregulation of neuroendocrine function in sleep-related disorders, among other topics. It should be a valuable resource for basic and clinical researchers."

Bruce S. McEwen, Ph.D., The Rockefeller University

Neuroendocrine Correlates of Sleep/Wakefulness emerges from three well-established disciplines - neuroendocrinology, neurochemistry of sleep/wakefulness, and sleep medicine...The readers will find also in depth information on neuroendocrine and behavioral correlates of sleep deprivation, circadian rhythms, affective disorders, obstructive sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome and infectious diseases. Daniel P. Cardinali and S.R. Pandi-Perumal have edited a book that is clear, comprehensive, well balanced and remarkably complete. This volume will be of interest to a wide circle of readers including neuroendocrinologists, neurologists, psychiatrists psychologists and sleep medicine specialists who evaluate and/or treat patients with sleep disorders.

Jaime M. Monti, M.D., Clinics Hospital, School of Medicine

" When I first saw the title of this scholarly, up-to-date, and comprehensive multi-author book on the Neuroendocrine Correlates of Sleep and Wakefulness , I could not but think of a 400 BCE tome similarly entitled On Sleep and Sleeplessness, by Aristotle. How far has science gone in understanding the mechanisms of sleep and wakefulness and the pivotal physiologic and pathologic roles of sleep? Sleep and wakefulness constitute major homeostatic systems, whose proper function is crucial to the health and happiness of the individual. Both systems operate at the intersection of the nervous, endocrine, metabolic and immune systems, and their homeostatic mediators include all kinds of molecules, such as neurotransmitters, neuropeptides, hormones and cytokines. This book succeeds in providing, to large extent, the state-of the-art robust knowledge in this important area of science and medicine".

George P. Chrousos, M.D., University of Athens, Athens and National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda MD