James Teo wrote:
> >Someone else on a neurology forum referenced a Cuban man who had encephalitis
> >as a kid, which wrecked his either thalamus or hypothalamus, and he didn't
> >sleep for forty years. Apparently he "rested" or went into a light stage of one
> >and tiny bits of two sleep, no 3, 4 or REM. He needed to "rest" though, and
> >felt it akin to meditation. Anyways, they couldn't induce any sleep with any
> >medication on him. He was apparently evauated at the Stanford Sleep Center back
> >in the 80's but I haven't been able to find any reference to this study.
>> Don't know anything about that. Definitely would be very interesting
> if you could find the reference to that and pass it on to me. Dement's
> book doesn't mention it nor does my other neuro books.
>> The sleep initiators are in the brain stem and mid brain so I find it
> difficult to imagine a disease process which would selectively damage
> that centre without killing the individual.
I am sorry that I cannot find the book to give the publisher and author but the
information is in a book entitled "Wide Awake at 3 a.m." I got it several years ago
as a bonus for renewing my subscription to Scientific American. It discusses many
aspects of sleep deprivation and various disorders.
