El misterioso reino de Morfeo en Nature

Insight: Sleep

Vol. 437, No. 7063 pp1207-1396

In this supplement

• Introduction
• Articles

  Aquí he escogido algunos de los fascinantes artículos dedicados al sueño que publica el vol 437 de Nature. Noten las veces que los investigadores reconocen lo poco que se sabe, o todo lo que queda por averiguar, en torno a una función vital como es el sueño. La vida es, biológicamente sueño.
  
  

Sleep is of the brain, by the brain and for the brain

J. Allan Hobson¹

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Abstract

Sleep is a widespread biological phenomenon, and its scientific study is proceeding at multiple levels at the same time. Marked progress is being made in answering three fundamental questions: what is sleep, what are its mechanisms and what are its functions? The most salient answers to these questions have resulted from applying new techniques from basic and applied neuroscience research. The study of sleep is also shedding light on our understanding of consciousness, which undergoes alteration in parallel with sleep-induced changes in the brain.

What are the memory sources of dreaming?

Tore A. Nielsen^1,2 & Philippe Stenstrom^1,3

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Abstract

Investigators since Freud have appreciated that memories of the people, places, activities and emotions of daily life are reflected in dreams but are typically so fragmented that their predictability is nil. The mechanisms that translate such memories into dream images remain largely unknown. New research targeting relationships between dreaming, memory and the hippocampus is producing a new theory to explain how, why and when we dream of waking life events.

Neuroscience: A memory boost while you sleep

Robert Stickgold¹

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Abstract

It is generally agreed that sleep aids memory consolidation, but the reasons for this are a mystery. Part of the answer may lie in the patterns of synchronous brain activity unique to the state of slumber.

Only ten years ago, discussions about the purpose of sleep offered great hypotheses, but these were based on flimsy evidence. So scant were the data that some researchers argued that sleep might have no use at all.

Review Article Hypothalamic regulation of sleep and circadian rhythms

Clifford B. Saper¹, Thomas E. Scammell¹ & Jun Lu¹

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Abstract

A series of findings over the past decade has begun to identify the brain circuitry and neurotransmitters that regulate our daily cycles of sleep and wakefulness. The latter depends on a network of cell groups that activate the thalamus and the cerebral cortex. A key switch in the hypothalamus shuts off this arousal system during sleep. Other hypothalamic neurons stabilize the switch, and their absence results in inappropriate switching of behavioural states, such as occurs in narcolepsy. These findings explain how various drugs affect sleep and wakefulness, and provide the basis for a wide range of environmental influences to shape wake–sleep cycles into the optimal pattern for survival.

Review Article Clues to the functions of mammalian sleep

Jerome M. Siegel¹

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Abstract

The functions of mammalian sleep remain unclear. Most theories suggest a role for non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep in energy conservation and in nervous system recuperation. Theories of REM sleep have suggested a role for this state in periodic brain activation during sleep, in localized recuperative processes and in emotional regulation. Across mammals, the amount and nature of sleep are correlated with age, body size and ecological variables, such as whether the animals live in a terrestrial or an aquatic environment, their diet and the safety of their sleeping site. Sleep may be an efficient time for the completion of a number of functions, but variations in sleep expression indicate that these functions may differ across species.

Review Article Insights from studying human sleep disorders

Mark W. Mahowald¹ & Carlos H. Schenck¹

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Abstract

Problems with sleep are one of the commonest reasons for seeking medical attention. Knowledge gained from basic research into sleep in animals has led to marked advances in the understanding of human sleep, with important diagnostic and therapeutic implications. At the same time, research guided by human sleep disorders is leading to important basic sleep concepts. For example, sleep may not be a global, but rather a local, brain phenomenon. Furthermore, contrary to common assumptions, wakefulness, rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM sleep are not mutually exclusive states. This striking realization explains a fascinating range of clinical phenomena.

La última muerte de Fidel Castro

Vaya manía tiene cierto personal agorero de enterrarlo antes de hora. Y Fidel, ese gallego tan bronco como listo, resucita. La verdad es que no me puedo desprender de su sombra histórica. Forma parte de mi infancia. Es el personaje cuya voz un poco rota acompañaba nuestra juventud. Ahora es un anciano de 86 años. Es decir está muy avanzado en la cuenta atrás que nos persigue a todos. Para sus rabiosos enemigos la mala salud de hierro de Fidel es como un grano en el ano. La historia que a él tanto le importa lo juzgará. Mientras tanto yo prefiero perdonarle todos los experimentos que hizo con mi generación. Los terribles desencuentros, las rupturas familiares, las persecuciones variopintas. Y decirle:Comandante pa´lante y pa´lante mientras el body aguante.

Las guerras (perdidas) de Obama

Obama’s War Record

by Jack A. Smith

El presidente Barack Obama no ha podido escapar a guerras heredadas pero en las que ha involucrado su administración. El número de bajas en Afganistan supera los 2000 efectivos, según fuentes serias. Las guerras y sus consecuencias no parecen interesar mucho en un año de elecciones. Lean y juzguen. Si les interesa, pueden consultar la URL correspondiente.

Url of this article:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/obamas-war-record/5308209

When Sen. Barack Obama ran for the presidency in 2008 many wishful-thinking Democratic voters viewed him as a peace candidate because he opposed the Iraq war (but voted yes on the war budgets while in the Senate). Some others assumed his foreign/military policy would be along the lines of Presidents George H. W. Bush (whom Obama admires) or Bill Clinton. Some who identified as progressives actually thought his foreign/military policy might tilt to the left.
Instead, center rightist that he is, Obama’s foreign/military policy amounted to a virtual continuation of George W. Bush’s Global War on Terrorism under a different name. He extended Bush’s wars to Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Libya and elsewhere while greatly expanding the war in Afghanistan, hiking the military budget, encouraging the growth of militarism in U.S. society by repeatedly heaping excessive praise on the armed forces, and tightening the military encirclement of China.
Summing up some of his military accomplishments a few months ago, Obama declared: “We’ve succeeded in defending our nation, taking the fight to our enemies, reducing the number of Americans in harm’s way, and we’ve restored America’s global leadership. That makes us safer and it makes us stronger. And that’s an achievement that every American — especially those Americans who are proud to wear the uniform of the United States Armed Forces — should take great pride in.”
Obama actually has little to show for his war policy after nearly four years. Most importantly, Afghanistan — the war he supported with enthusiasm — is predictably blowing up in his face. A symbol of the Bush-Obama 11-year Afghan folly is the recent 2,000th death of an American soldier, not at the hands of the Taliban but a U.S.-trained Afghan police officer, our supposed ally. The truth is that public opinion in Afghanistan has always overwhelmingly opposed the invasion, and rightly so.
Obama hopes to avoid the embarrassment of a takeover by the Taliban or another violent Afghan civil war (as happened in the 1990s) after the bulk of U.S. troops pull out at the end of 2014. He’s made a deal with the Kabul government that allows Washington to keep thousands of American troops — Army, CIA agents with their drones, elite Special Operations forces and pilots — until 2024. There are two reasons for this. One is to keep a U.S.-controlled government in Kabul as long as possible. The other is to station American combatants near Afghanistan’s borders with Iran to the west and China to the east for another 10 years, a verdict hardly appreciated in Tehran and Beijing.
The Middle East is in turmoil. Israel’s still threatening to attack Iran, an act that would transform turmoil into catastrophe. The Syrian regime refuses to fall, much to Washington’s chagrin. Egypt’s new government has just declared partial independence from Washington’s longstanding domination

Asesinos en serie:la mente criminal al desnudo

A partir de octubre voy a recomendar uno o dos libros . Para comenzar he escogido "Asesinos en serie", una obra excelente, un tratado ameno, del experto investigador del FBI Robert K. Ressler. Es un texto ideal para  policías, jueces, abogados penalistas, psicólogos y psiquiatras. Poco apto para estómagos demasiado delicados. Pero ya que la televisión se encuentra plagada de series morbosas con autopsias, no creo que nadie vomite. Ressler describe sus técnicas de interrogatorio a criminales. Nos expone cómo se forma un asesino en serie (suelen ser exclusivamente hombres). De Ressler se puede aprender el arte de la observación psicológica minuciosa y la importancia de los detalles. Cuesta 20 euros pero de verdad que vale la pena.

La depresión: un abrazo anticipado de la muerte.

La depresión es una enfermedad mental grave. En 1992 hice una 

revisión del asunto, y al consultar con varios psiquiatras no dudé 

de encabezar el artículo de "El País" como 

"La depresión : un abrazo anticipado de la muerte". 

Aquí "Science" se ocupa del asunto. Ofrece nuevos y 

esperanzadores datos.

INTRODUCTION

Defeating the Dementors

Considering its impact on an individual's quality of life and subsequently on the economy and society in general, gaining an understanding of what causes depression and trying to develop effective therapies is of utmost importance.

REVIEW

Synaptic Dysfunction in Depression: Potential Therapeutic Targets

R. S. Duman and G. K. Aghajanian

Depression causes neuronal atrophy and decreased synaptic connections in brain areas that control emotion, mood, and cognition.

PERSPECTIVE

Depression and Hippocampal Neurogenesis: A Road to Remission?

A. J. Eisch and D. Petrik

Adult hippocampal neurogenesis as a possible target for the treatment of depression.

PERSPECTIVE

Are We Getting Closer to Valid Translational Models for Major Depression?

O. Berton et al.

Developing appropriate animal models of depression continues to be a substantial challenge.

PERSPECTIVE

The Science of Resilience: Implications for the Prevention and Treatment of Depression

S. M. Southwick and D. S. Charney

Finding the reasons why some individuals are more protected against depression than others might improve future therapies.

RELATED REVIEW IN SCIENCE

Theory and Simulation in Neuroscience

W. Gerstner et al.

A review of the interaction of theory and simulation using examples of top-down and bottom-up studies and some current developments in the fields of computational and theoretical neuroscience.

RELATED EDITORIAL IN SCIENCE

The Burden of Mood Disorders

H.-U. Wittchen

Reducing the burdens of mood disorders requires major shifts in research, clinical practice, and public health by incorporating multidisciplinary models of intervention.

Flores para Ernesto Che Guevara

Un día como hoy de 1967, fué vilmente asesinado Ernesto Che Guevara (1928 - 1967). Muerto el guerrillero soñador y valiente, su figura se convirtió en un mito planetario. Una personalidad histórica muy controvertida del siglo XX. Con furiosos detractores y rendidos adictos.

Aquí van dos poemas que creo que le hubieran gustado un poco. Aunque él prefería las flores de Baudelaire.

Tristeza en la muerte de un héroe

Poema de Pablo Neruda 

 

Los que vivimos esta historia, esta muerte y resurrección de nuestra esperanza enlutada,

los que escogimos el combate y vimos crecer las banderas, supimos que los más callados

fueron nuestros únicos héroes y que después de las victorias llegaron los vociferantes

llena la boca de jactancia y de proezas salivares.

El pueblo movió la cabeza:

y volvió el héroe a su silencio.

Pero el silencio se enlutó hasta ahogarnos en el luto cuando moría en las montañas

el fuego ilustre de Guevara.

El comandante terminó asesinado en un barranco.

Nadie dijo esta boca es mía.

Nadie lloró en los pueblos indios.

Nadie subió a los campanarios.

Nadie levantó los fusiles, y cobraron la recompensa aquellos que vino a salvar

el comandante asesinado.

¿ Qué pasó, medita el contrito, con estos acontecimientos?

Y no se dice la verdad pero se cubre con papel esta desdicha de metal.

Recién se abría el derrotero y cuando llegó la derrota fue como un hacha que cayó

en la cisterna del silencio.

Bolivia volvió a su rencor, a sus oxidados gorilas, a su miseria intransigente,

y como brujos asustados los sargentos de la deshonrra, los generalitos del crimen,

escondieron con eficiencia el cadáver del guerrillero como si el muerto los quemara.

La selva amarga se tragó los movimientos, los caminos, y donde pasaron los pies

de la milicia exterminada hoy las lianas aconsejaron una voz verde de raíces

y el ciervo salvaje volvió al follaje sin estampidos.

Medalla conmemorativa cubana.

CHE


Poema de Mario Benedetti

Lo han cubierto de afiches, de pancartas
de voces en los muros
de agravios retroactivos
de honores a destiempolo han transformado en pieza de consumo
en memoria trivial
en ayer sin retorno
en rabia embalsamadahan decidido usarlo como epílogo
como última Thule de la inocencia vana
como añejo arquetipo de santo o Satanásy quizás han resuelto que la única forma 
de desprenderse de él
o dejarlo al garete
es vaciarlo de lumbre
convertirlo en un héroe
de mármol o de yeso
y por lo tanto inmóvil
o mejor como mito
o silueta o fantasma
del pasado pisadosin embargo los ojos incerrables del Che
miran como si no pudieran no mirar
asombrados tal vez de que el mundo no entienda
que treinta años después siga bregando
dulce y tenaz por la dicha del hombre.

 

Los riesgos de una guerra contra Irán

“War on Iran Will Trigger World War III”

by Prof Michel Chossudovsky

Michel Chossudovsky analiza las  consecuencias de un ataque contra Irán en el que se verían involucradas inicialmente fuerzas israelíes y estadounidenses. El profesor Chossudovsky no duda en especular en torno a la posibilidad de que se desencadene una tercera conflagración mundial. El integrismo islámico ha dado sobradas muestras de su disposición bélica. Las recientes oleadas terroristas, dirigidas contra embajadas de EEUU, son una inequívoca señal de cómo de fanáticos y destructivos pueden ser los "guerreros de la yihad".
España acogerá unidades del escudo antimisiles que se desplegarán en Rota desde 2014: cuatro destructores de la clase Arleigh Burke, dotados con el sistema de combate Aegis, y unos 1.100 militares. No se rebasará, sin embargo, el techo de 4.750 militares estadounidense previsto en el convenio. 
La misión principal de estos buques será colaborar en el sistema de defensa antimisiles —frente a amenazas de misiles balísticos como los desarrollados por Irán y Corea del Norte—, pero también harán otras actividades en el marco bilateral o de la OTAN.

Url of this article:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/a-war-on-iran-will-trigger-world-war-iii/

“Our defensive power has been created on the basis of our defensive strategy and the presumption ruling our defensive strategy is that we will enter an massive battle with a US-led coalition.”  Brigadier General Hossein Salami, IRGC Deputy Commander, September  2012)
Both the US and Israel have threatened to implement a preemptive first strike attack against Iran, the consequences of which would be devastating.
Responding to these ongoing threats, Iran’s Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) General Amir Ali Hajizadeh has warned that a US-Israeli military attack against Iran could lead to the outbreak of a Third World War. He also intimated that Israel cannot launch a war without the green-light from the US.
If such a war were to be launched, according to General Hajizadeh, a scenario of uncontrolled military escalation  is likely to occur.   If attacked, Iran would retaliate against both Israeli and US targets including US military facilities in neighboring countries (ie. Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Gulf States):
Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force General Amir Ali Hajizadeh warned the US and the Zionist regime [Israel] that an attack on Iran will likely trigger World War III.
Speaking to the Arabic news network, Al-Alam on Sunday, General Hajizadeh said the US and the Israeli regime may not enter war with Iran “independent from each other, meaning that either one of these two starts the war, it will be joined by the other one”.
“We see the US and the Zionist regime standing fully on the side of each other and we cannot imagine the Zionist regime initiating a war without the US backup. Due to the same reason, if a war breaks out, we will definitely wage battle on both sides and will definitely be engaged with the US bases,” he said.
“In case such conditions arise, a series of incidents will take place which will not be controllable and manageable and such a war might turn into a third world war. That means, certain countries may enter the war for or against Iran,” added the general.
The IRGC commander warned that in case such war is waged on Iran, the US bases in “those countries around us and inside the neighboring countries will be targeted and they will even be threatened by the nations of these very states”. (Fars News Agency, September 23, 2012, emphasis added)
The World is at a dangerous crossroads. The statement of General Hajizadeh must be taken seriously.
Active war preparations against Iran have been ongoing for the last eight years. Since 2005, the US and its allies, including America’s NATO partners and Israel, have been involved in the extensive deployment and stockpiling of advanced weapons systems. The air defense systems of the US, NATO member countries and Israel are fully integrated. Israel cannot act without the support of its allies.
This is a coordinated endeavor of the Pentagon, NATO and Israel’s Defense Force (IDF) directed against Iran. Several non-NATO partner countries including the frontline Arab states (members of NATO’s Mediterranean Dialogue and the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative)  are also involved.Media Disinformation
Public opinion, swayed by media hype is tacitly supportive, indifferent or ignorant as to the likely impacts of what is upheld as an ad hoc “punitive” operation directed against Iran’s nuclear facilities rather than an all out war.
The war on Iran is presented to public opinion as an issue among others. It is not viewed as a threat to humanity. Quite the opposite: it is viewed as a humanitarian endeavor.Retaliation
The Western media is beating the drums of war. The purpose is to tacitly instil, through repeated media reports, ad nauseam, within people’s inner consciousness, the notion that the Iranian threat is real and that the Islamic Republic should be “taken out”.
Iran has significant military capabilities. The fact that an attack on Iran could lead to retaliation and escalation which could potentially unleash a “global war” is not a matter of concern.
While the Islamic Republic does not constitute a threat to the security of Israel,  Iran’s military brass has emphasized that in the case of an attack on Iran, retaliation against Israel is contemplated, with potentially devastating consequences:
On Saturday, IRGC’s top Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari said an enemy invasion of Iran is possible, but such a war would put an end to the life of the Zionist regime of Israel.
“War may break out, but if Zionists [Israeli government] start something, that will be the point of their annihilation and the endpoint of their story,” he added.Jafari, meantime, underlined that “no one dares to wage an extensive ground assault on Iran”.
The General said if the enemy were wise, there wouldn’t be any problem, “but the problem is that there is no guarantee for this rationality and we should be prepared too.
Later yesterday, his deputy, Brigadier General Hossein Salami, cautioned that any possible attack on the Islamic Republic of Iran by the Zionist regime would provide an opportunity for Tehran to wipe the regime off the earth.
“If the Zionists embark on attacking Iran, it will provide a historical opportunity for the Islamic Revolution to wipe them off the world’s geographical history,” Salami said on Saturday night on the state-run TV.
“We are now through with concerns about the Zionist regime’s threats,” he said, adding that Israel has bitter memories of its last-decade wars with the regional allies of the Islamic Republic, including Hezbollah and Hamas Movement.
“(Given the above-mentioned failures) how does it (the Zionist regime) want to be a threat against the Islamic Republic of Iran?” Salami asked.
He, meantime, underlined Iran’s preparedness to confront any aggression against the country, and said, “Our defensive power has been created on the basis of our defensive strategy and the presumption ruling our defensive strategy is that we will enter an massive battle with a US-led coalition.”
On Friday, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Seyed Hassan Firouzabadi also warned that Tehran would reciprocate any aggression against the country with an “immediate” and “non-stop” response, stressed.
“We do not feel threatened by the boastful remarks of Zionist leaders, because they are creatures with deep fright who continue crying out since they know that Iran’s response to threats will be readymade, immediate and non-stop,” Major General Firouzabadi told reporters on the sidelines of September 21 military parades marking the anniversary of the Week of Sacred Defense here in Tehran on Friday morning.
“The Zionist regime officials have declared in their (military) estimates that military operations against Iran neither can be done by Israel nor is useful for them,” he added.
He also stated that Iran’s armed forces today are unpredictable and their strategy and actions cannot be foreseen by the enemies.
The Sacred Defense Week, commemorating Iranians’ sacrifices during the 8 years of Iraqi imposed war on Iran in 1980s, started on Friday with nationwide parades by various units of the Islamic Republic Army, Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and Basij (volunteer) forces in Southern Tehran. (Fars News Agency, September 23, 2012, emphasis added)Reverse the Tide of War
We call upon our readers to spread the message far and wide.
We call upon people across the land, in America,  Western Europe, Israel, Turkey and around the world to rise up against this military project, against their governments which are supportive of military action against Iran, against the media which serves to camouflage the devastating implications of a war against Iran.
The people of Israel are largely united against Prime Minister Netanyahu’s resolve to attack Iran.
A protocol of non-aggression should be reached between Israel and Iran.