Sleep-inducing factors.
Kuniomi Ishimori and Henri Piéron were the first researchers to introduce the concept and experimental evidence for a chemical factor that would presumably accumulate in the brain during waking and eventually induce sleep. This substance was named hypnotoxin. Currently, the variety of substances which have been shown to alter sleep includes peptides, cytokines, neurotransmitters and some substances of lipidic nature, many of which are well known for their involvement in other biological activities. In this chapter, we describe the sleep-inducing properties of the vasoactive intestinal peptide, prolactin, adenosine and anandamide.
García-García
Fabio
F
Laboratorio de Biología de Sueño, Departamento de Biomedicina, Instituto de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Veracruzana, México. fgarcia@uv.mx
Acosta-Peña
Eva
E
Venebra-Muñoz
Arturo
A
Murillo-Rodríguez
Eric
E
D000241:Adenosine / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001095:Arachidonic Acids / Q000502:physiology*; D063385:Cannabinoid Receptor Modulators / Q000502:physiology; D063388:Endocannabinoids; D006801:Humans; D053284:Polyunsaturated Alkamides; D011388:Prolactin / Q000502:physiology*; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D012895:Sleep, REM / Q000502:physiology; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000502:physiology; D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide / Q000502:physiology*
D001095:Arachidonic Acids; D063385:Cannabinoid Receptor Modulators; D063388:Endocannabinoids; D053284:Polyunsaturated Alkamides; D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide; D011388:Prolactin; D000241:Adenosine; C078814:anandamide