A new study shows that drowsiness alters awareness in much the same way as a common form of brain damage
Damage to certain parts of the brain can lead to a weird syndrome called hemispatial neglect,in which one loses awareness of one side of their body and the space around it. In extreme cases, a patient with hemispatial neglect might eat food from only one side of their plate, and dress on only one side of their body,or shave or apply invent-up to half of their face, apparently because they cannot pay attention to anything on that the other side. Research published last week now suggests that something like this happens to all of us when we drift off to sleep each night. The work could benefit researchers to understand the causes of hemispatial neglect, and why it affects one side far more often than the other. It also begins to reveal the profound changes in conscious experience that take station while we fall asleep,and the brain changes that accompany them. Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com