Sleep and Aging provides a unique and timely collection of review articles that cover the gamut of basic and clinical aspects of sleep and the abnormalities in sleep associated with aging and neurological disorders that occur during aging. From the evolutionary basis of sleep and its normal functions in processes such as learning and memory, to considerations of the roles of sleep abnormalities in neurological disorders such as depression, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, the chapters are written by experts in the field. Several chapters focus on signalling pathways involved in sleep regulation and abnormalities in sleep, including those activated by serotonin and BDNF. Basic and clinical research on insomnia, sleep apnea and other disorders of sleep, are covered thus providing students and scientists at all levels with a valuable source of information to advance their understanding of this important topic in aging, biology and medicine. The circuits in the brain involved in sleep regulation, their neurochemistry, how they are altered in disorders of sleep and current clinical treatments of various sleep disorders are reviewed. The important role of sleep disturbances in neurodegenerative disorders is described and research in this particular area is leading to a better understanding of the relationships between synaptic plasticity, neuronal degeneration and the clinical manifestations of disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and depression. This book is a must for scientists, as well as non-scientists, who are interested in the neurobiology of aging, sleep and neurodegenerative disorders.

Clinical practice related to sleep problems and sleep disorders has been expanding rapidly in the last few years, but scientific research is not keeping pace. Sleep apnea, insomnia, and restless legs syndrome are three examples of very common disorders for which we have little biological information. This new book cuts across a variety of medical disciplines such as neurology, pulmonology, pediatrics, internal medicine, psychiatry, psychology, otolaryngology, and nursing, as well as other medical practices with an interest in the management of sleep pathology. This area of research is not limited to very young and old patientsâ€"sleep disorders reach across all ages and ethnicities. Sleep Disorders and Sleep Deprivation presents a structured analysis that explores the following: Improving awareness among the general public and health care professionals. Increasing investment in interdisciplinary somnology and sleep medicine research training and mentoring activities. Validating and developing new and existing technologies for diagnosis and treatment. This book will be of interest to those looking to learn more about the enormous public health burden of sleep disorders and sleep deprivation and the strikingly limited capacity of the health care enterprise to identify and treat the majority of individuals suffering from sleep problems.

This comprehensive ‘Major Reference Book’ compiles all current and latest information on aging skin in a two-volume set. Highly structured with a reader-friendly format, it covers a wide range of areas such as basic sciences, the different diseases and conditions which occur with aging (from malignant to non-malignant), the latest techniques and methods being used such as bioengineering methods and biometrics as well as toxicological and safety considerations for the elderly population. It also illustrates the global consumers’ sociological and psychological implications, ethnicity and gender differences and includes marketing considerations for this elderly group. This unique and comprehensive guide will become the main reference textbook on this topic.

Sleep is considered one of the vital signs and has become an important public health issue in our society. Thus, sleep impacts on overall health and, conversely, certain common medical conditions can impair sleep. Emerging evidence, in conjunction with clinical experience, demonstrates that physical therapy improves several sleep disorders and also optimized sleep contributes to boost rehabilitation. As health care professionals, physical therapists are singularly concerned with well-being and need to be competent to instruct their patients to rest and sleep. This book discusses evidences of physiotherapy and sleep medicine. It elucidates the neurophysiological background and mechanisms for physiotherapeutic resources and techniques, directing the future for promising research in the area. Divided in seven sections, the work initially addresses the basic concepts of sleep and physiotherapy and its relation to practice, including the importance of sleep medicine for health. The second section focuses on the basic conceptions of physical therapists' understanding and working in clinical practice and research with sleep.The next section reviews the most common sleep disturbances such as insomnia, restless legs syndrome, and respiratory sleep disturbances. Special populations, spotlighting childhood and adolescence, women physiologic reproductive stages, sleep and gender, and sleep and pain interactions are also examined. Last sections discuss the physical therapy resources to improve sleep and to treat sleep disturbances. This title is an essential resource not only for graduate students, residents, health professionals and physiotherapists working in prevention and rehabilitation, but also for researchers interested in screening, diagnostic and treatment innovations. It is addressed to neurologists, sleep medicine specialists and physical educators as well.

Despite impressive advances in understanding sleep as a biological phenomenon and in understanding the nature of mental processes in the normal waking state, our knowledge of mental life during sleep remains extremely impoverished. The common identification of cognition with consciousness leaves the impression that little or no mental activity occurs during sleep. The present volume represents the Proceedings of the Arizona Conference on Sleep and Cognition, held in Tucson January 19-22, 1989. A principal concern of the conference was the implications of recent work on implicit memory and other aspects of information-processing outside of awareness for studies of cognitive processes during sleep, and the role of the sleep laboratory as a vehicle for studying various aspects of information processing outside of awareness, in the absence of the active deployment of attention. To this end, selected investigators in the area of sleep who have an interest in cognitive processes were brought together with their counterparts in the area of cognition who have an interest in sleep. We hope that one outcome of this meeting, and publication of the Proceedings, will be a new agenda for research on sleep that will carry investigators of both camps well into the 21st century.