Human Sleep: Research and Clinical Care

by Wallace B. Mendelson (Editor)

Sleep plays an important role in the history of the neurosciences. On Easter Monday in 1920, Otto Loewi was awakened in the night by a dream in which he conceived of neurotransmitters communicating across the synapse. He quickly made notes, but in the morning he could not understand his scribbles. The following night, the dream came again. He wrote down his thoughts more carefully and, the next day, conducted the crucial experiment that launched modern neu rophysiology (Koelle, 1986). Since the beginning of the modern era of sleep research in the 1950s, we have used the principles of neurotransmission to explore the regulation of sleep. Without resorting excessively to comments on blind men and elephants, however, it is fair to say that the phenomena of sleep and waking can be approached from many perspectives. Among other things, sleep is a process that can be described electri cally, an experience that so far defies physiological measurements, and a social behavior. In this book, I have tried to describe the physiology and pharmacology of sleep (Part I) and to relate them to clinical sleep disorders (Part II). Having neither the skill nor the grandiosity of Rous seau, I have made no attempt to write an encyclopedia of all that is known on the subject. Rather, I think of this book as more of a snap shot, giving a picture of where we are, and it is hoped, a history of how we got here."

456 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 1987

About the author

Dr. Mendelson is a Professor of Psychiatry and Clinical Pharmacology, and director of the Sleep Research Laboratory (ret), at the University of Chicago. He earned an MD degree from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and completed a residency in psychiatry there as well. He has held professorships at Ohio State University and the State University of New York at Stony Brook, was Chief of the Section on Sleep Studies at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, MD, and Director of the Sleep Disorders Center at the Cleveland Clinic.

Dr. Mendelson is a past president of the Sleep Research Society. Among his honors is the William C. Dement Academic Achievement Award from the American Sleep Disorders Association/American Academy of Sleep Medicine as well as a Special Award in Sleep and Psychiatry from the National Sleep Foundation, and he is a distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. Dr. Mendelson has authored 15 books and numerous peer-reviewed papers on various aspects of sleep research, psychiatry, and medical history. More information about his work can be found on Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace...) and at his website (www.zhibit.org/WallaceMendelson).