WESTCHESTER, Ill., Feb. 2 (UPI) — A U.S. study found that the “quality” and “intensity” of wakefulness can affect slow-wave activity, or SWA, during subsequent sleep.
Dr. Chiara Cirelli of the University of Wisconsin-Madison says the paper demonstrates that the crucial factor linking physiological waking activity to sleep SWA is synaptic plasticity, notably synaptic potentiation, mediated by brain-derived neurotrophic factor signaling, or BNDF.