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THE BODY IS PARALYSED EVERY NIGHT DURING REM SLEEP
Muscle Tone Switches Off Every Night During REM Sleep
That Nightly Shutdown Is Called REM Atonia
Atonia Normally Ends Before A Sleeper Wakes Up
Sleep Paralysis Is That Same Shutdown Running Past Waking
Awareness Returns While The Muscles Are Still Switched Off
Mouse And Rat Experiments Located That Switch In The Brainstem
Whether A Human Brain Does The Same Thing Is Still Inferred
Every Direct Measurement So Far Has Come From Rodents
THIS NEWSLETTER IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. NOTHING IN THIS CONTENT CONSTITUTES MEDICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, OR PROFESSIONAL ADVICE. ALWAYS CONSULT A QUALIFIED HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL BEFORE MAKING ANY HEALTH RELATED DECISIONS.
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OKAY BACK FROM THE SLEEP LAB 🧪
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THE NIGHTLY OFF SWITCH 😴
Sleep Alternates Between Non REM Stages And REM Sleep
REM Stands For Rapid Eye Movement Sleep
Most Dreaming Happens During REM Sleep
The Body Loses Muscle Tone Every Time REM Begins
Doctors Call This Loss Of Tone REM Atonia
Atonia Keeps A Sleeper From Acting Out A Dream
Every Ordinary Night Includes This Off Switch
The Switch Does Not Care Whether The Mind Is Awake
Sleep Paralysis Is Not A Separate State From Atonia
It Is The Same Off Switch Staying On Too Long
Awareness Can Return Before The Muscles Turn Back On
A Person Can Be Fully Conscious And Still Paralysed
Researchers Track Muscle Tone And Arousal As Two Variables
The Two Usually Change At The Same Time
A Study Found They Can Be Decoupled From Each Other
Decoupled Means One Can Shift Without The Other Shifting
That Study Traced The Switch To A Brainstem Region
The Switch Itself Sits Just Inside That Location
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THE BRAINSTEM NUCLEUS 🔌
A Small Brainstem Nucleus Runs This Switch
Researchers Call It The Sublaterodorsal Tegmental Nucleus
The Short Name For It Is The SLD
It Sits Inside The Region That Generates REM Sleep
A Study Published In 2019 Tested What The SLD Controls
The Researchers Worked With Mice
They Manipulated That Brainstem Region Directly
A Mouse Stayed Aroused While Its Muscle Tone Stayed Off
Researchers Also Silenced SLD Neurons On Their Own
Silencing Those Neurons Prevented Motor Suppression During REM Sleep
Without An Active SLD The Muscles Did Not Lose Tone
The SLD Controls When Muscle Tone Turns Off
It Does Not Control When A Mind Becomes Aware
Those Two Processes Normally Start At The Same Point
Sleep Paralysis Is What Happens When They Do Not
Muscle Tone Can Turn Off Late Or Awareness Can Start Early
The Sleeper Wakes While The SLD Still Keeps The Body Still
That Switch Depends On A Specific Chemical Signal
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THE CHEMISTRY AND ITS LIMIT 🧬
Two Chemical Messengers Deliver The SLD's Signal
GABA And Glycine Are The Two Chemical Messengers
Both Are Inhibitory Neurotransmitters In The Nervous System
A Study Published In 2012 Traced Their Role In REM Atonia
Researchers On A Second Team Studied Rats Instead
REM Atonia Follows A GABA And Glycine Drive
It Works By Switching Off Motoneuron Activity
Motoneurons Are The Cells That Tell Muscles To Move
Turn Those Cells Off And The Signal Does Not Arrive
The Drive Acts Through Two Kinds Of Receptor
One Kind Is Metabotropic GABA(B)
Metabotropic Means The Signal Passes Through A Chemical Relay
The Other Kind Is Ionotropic GABA(A) Plus Glycine
Ionotropic Means The Signal Opens A Channel Directly
Targeting Both Kinds Together Silences The Motoneurons
Both Findings Come From Animal Experiments Not Human Ones
One Study Used Mice And The Other Used Rats
Neither Team Measured A Human Brain During An Episode
Human Relevance Rests On The Circuits Being Similar Across Species
That Is Inference By Homology Not Direct Measurement
