Читать книгу Dental Management of Sleep Disorders - Ronald Attanasio - Страница 50

This is a hormone that is released by the pineal gland in the brain and its major impact is on the CR. Melatonin does not directly impact sleep like other neurotransmitters. The role of melatonin is to prepare areas of the brain for the action of neurotransmitters that promote sleep [41]. As such the release of melatonin is related to light. Light that penetrates the eye has an impact on the release of melatonin in a negative fashion. In the presence of light, the release of melatonin is turned off. As darkness approaches the absence of light, penetrating the eye is the stimulus to release melatonin thus promoting sleep.

The pathway that impacts the release of melatonin is not a direct one. The absence of light triggers neural activity that proceeds from the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the brain stem to the hypothalamus. The signal proceeds to the superior cervical nucleus of the spinal column and then to the pineal gland (Figure 2.5).