Neuropsychology of sleep

This short series of lectures aims at explaining the basis of the neurophysiological and neuropsychological aspects of sleep, such as dreaming, phases of sleep, states of consciousness. The objective of this course is to learn more about the nature of sleep, one of the most common life functions, but also one of the most mysterious and fascinating function. In this course the features of sleep will be placed in the context of the other states of consciousness, such as waking and dreaming. The latter state, as appearing during sleep, will get full attention, since it shows similarities both with waking and sleeping. Sleep disturbances due to various causes are amongst the most frequently occurring brain disorders. It is estimated that sleep problems affect more than one quarter of mankind. Sleep therapies for chronic insomnia, both pharmacological as behavioural, will be treated. Finally, sleep as a subconscious state will be compared to other low-conscious states such as anaesthesia an coma.