A study done by the reasearchers at the Greater VA Healthcare System and UCLA revealed for the first time, the different roles of the three chemicals serotonin, norepinephrine, and histamine in regulating our sleep. The researchers studied dogs with a sleep disorder called narcolepsy. A strange phenomenon called cataplexy takes place, where the body goes completely limp (as if sleeping), but the mind stays completely alert. They found that during cataplexy, nuerons in the brain with histamine remained active, while nuerons with serotonin and norepinephrine fell silent. So that means. . . serotonin and norepinephrine control muscle tone, keeping the body still at night, while histamine controls wakefulness.
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