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The incredible science of the sleeping brain

The incredible science of the sleeping brain

Science Weekly vor 4 Monaten

Ian Sample talks to Prof Maiken Nedergaard about her groundbreaking work on the brain’s waste-disposal system and how subsequent research is building a picture of sleep as anything but a quiet, inactive state

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Humans have been wondering why we sleep for thousands of years. Is
sleep’s purpose rest and relaxation, memory consolidation or maybe
cognitive processing? In the last 15 years, scientists have
discovered another possible explanation – waste disposal. In 2012
neuroscientist Maiken Nedergaard’s lab discovered that the brain
has its own cleaning process, the glymphatic system, which clears
away unhelpful proteins and metabolic byproducts, and only switches
on at night. Since that groundbreaking discovery we’ve learned more
about what drives this system and, importantly, how it could be
impacting dementia. To understand more, Ian Sample talks to Prof
Nedergaard about how she made the original discovery and how
subsequent work is building a picture of sleep as anything but a
quiet and inactive state. Help support our independent journalism
at theguardian.com/sciencepod