The brain cells that keep people awake fire spontaneously and continuously on their own, neuroscientists have found. This result suggests that sleep depends on signals from other brain regions that quiet these neurons.
Scientists previously discovered these brain cells while studying people and animals with narcolepsy, a condition marked by sudden bouts of deep sleep. Human narcolepsy generally stems from a shortage of the neurons, which produce the excitatory neurotransmitter known both as hypocretin and orexin (SN: 9/2/00,
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