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Microsleep
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==Neural correlates== Generally, microsleeps are characterized by a decrease in activity in wakefulness-related regions of the brain and an increase in activity in sleep-related regions of the brain. Looking at neural correlates of microsleeps is difficult because microsleeps can also be triggered by monotonous tasks (e.g. such as driving or dozing off in class). Therefore, it is important to examine neural correlates of microsleep events with respect to experimental set-ups (e.g. simulated driving set-up, reaction time set-up, etc.). Individual variability in brain structure also makes it difficult to diagnose microsleep events objectively.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Vigilance, alertness, or sustained attention: physiological basis and measurement|last1=Oken|first1=B.S.|last2=Salinsky|first2=M.C.|last3=Elsas|first3=S.M.|journal=[[Clinical Neurophysiology (journal)|Clinical Neurophysiology]]|date=September 2006|volume=117|issue=9|pages=1885β1901 |doi=10.1016/j.clinph.2006.01.017|pmid=16581292 |pmc=2865224}}</ref>{{Verify source|date=October 2021}} In one study, neural activity underlying microsleeps was investigated by simultaneously measuring eye video, response behavior, EEG, and fMRI in normally-rested individuals engaged in a sensory-motor task.<ref name=Brain /> Twenty participants tracked a visual stimulus with a joystick for 50 minutes in 2 dimensions (up/down/right/left) on a computer screen. Participants performed this task in an fMRI scanner such that joystick response, right eye-video, EEG (60 EEG electrodes), and fMRI data were recorded simultaneously. Most participants had frequent microsleeps (>35) in a continuous visuomotor task (tracking visual stimulus on a screen), corresponding with decreased activity in arousal-related brain regions over time ([[thalamus]], [[midbrain]], and the [[posterior cingulate cortex]]).<ref name=Brain /> Another study examined the activation patterns of 5 people who woke up from microsleeps in a simulated driving experiment.<ref name="Chou, Y. H. 2011"/> It was found that upon awakening the visual area, [[frontal cortex]], [[limbic lobe]] were activated (in the intense activation phase) and the frontal cortex, [[temporal cortex]], [[primary motor area]], and [[Insular cortex|insula]] were activated (in the post abrupt awakening phase). Therefore, the study concluded that decision-making was not activated immediately upon waking up from a microsleep episode, likely increasing risk of injury in intense decision-making tasks like driving or surgery. The transition from wakefulness to sleep is regulated by a variety of chemicals. [[Adenosine]] likely causes the 'feeling sleepy' side of microsleeps, while [[dopamine]] likely reduces microsleep events by promoting wakefulness. It has been shown that microsleeps correlate with spontaneous pontine-geniculate-occipital ([[PGO waves]]) waves, which suppress visual processing in the [[basal ganglia]]. When this pathway is not activated, cells in the [[superior colliculus]] (which causes release of dopamine) cannot be dis-inhibited via the basal ganglia, leading to poor processing ability and microsleep onset.<ref> Silkis, I. G. (2010). Analysis of the effects of neuromodulators on the generation of spontaneous pontine-geniculate-occipital (PGO) waves. Neurochemical Journal, 4(3), 170-177.</ref>
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