Course Overview

Examine groundbreaking research on the enigmatic phenomenon of sleep all the way down to the cellular and molecular level, led by an award-winning scientist.

This 24-lecture course explores:

• The neurobiology of sleep and circadian rhythms

• Sleep’s role in memory consolidation and learning

• Common sleep disorders and their treatments

• Cutting-edge research on dreams and sleep functions

Video Lectures

01: Sweet Sleep – Essential for a Healthy Life (34 min)

Consequences of sleep deprivation and theories about sleep’s purpose

02: What Is Sleep? (29 min)

Defining sleep characteristics and tools for studying sleep patterns

03: Sleep across the Night (29 min)

Cycling between REM and non-REM sleep stages

04: Sleep across the Lifespan (33 min)

How sleep patterns change from infancy to old age

05: Who in the World Sleeps? (29 min)

Comparative sleep patterns across animal species

06: The Timing of Sleep (30 min)

Circadian rhythms and their impact on health

07: The Wheels of the Circadian Clock (31 min)

Molecular genetics of biological clocks

08: The Deep Sleep of Hibernators (32 min)

Neural mechanisms of hibernation and torpor

09: The Neuroanatomy and Neurochemistry of Sleep (31 min)

Brain structures and chemicals regulating sleep

10: The Neurophysiology of Sleep (32 min)

Electrical activity during sleep at the cellular level

11: Sleep Disorders – Narcolepsy (31 min)

Causes and treatments for this neurological disorder

12: The Strange World of Dreams (29 min)

Scientific and psychoanalytic theories of dreaming

13: Functions of Sleep – Fueling the Brain (31 min)

Sleep’s role in restoring brain energy reserves

14: The Timing and Function of REM Sleep (31 min)

Why REM follows non-REM sleep and its purposes

15: Sleep and Learning – Procedural Memory (33 min)

How sleep consolidates motor skills and habits

16: Sleep and Declarative Memory (32 min)

Sleep’s impact on factual memory formation

17: Sleep and Memory in Animals (32 min)

Comparative studies of sleep’s role in learning

18: Sleep and Learning Disability (28 min)

Potential sleep-based therapies for cognitive disorders

19: When You Cannot Sleep – Insomnia (28 min)

Causes and consequences of chronic sleeplessness

20: Sleep Apnea (30 min)

Breathing disorders during sleep and treatments

21: Behavior during Sleep – Parasomnias (30 min)

Sleepwalking, night terrors and other unusual behaviors

22: Sleep and the Rest of the Body (31 min)

Sleep’s systemic effects beyond the brain

23: Improving Sleep (31 min)

Pharmaceutical and behavioral solutions for better sleep

24: Sleep in the Future and the Future of Sleep (33 min)

Emerging research directions in sleep science