Does R-complex, reptilian brain, sleep?

[Tom Hendricks]

There may be a case made that the R-complex (reptilian brain) sleeps
in REM sleep, while the Neo Cortex (cerebrum) sleeps in NREM. That
gives rest to both brains, while keeping one 'awake' for protection.

[Tom Hendricks]

My own R-complex brain is teaching me a lot - IF correct it is saying that almost all of the fight and flight response is in sleep - during deep sleep or NREM when the R-complex is awake, and it's at pathogens, most of which are connected with food in or waste out.

Now if true, that is a switch - our conscious social response of fight or flight may well be a projection of the inner sleep struggle against pathogens.

[malcolm...@btinternet.com]

Marine mammals have hemisphere-based sleep. One hemisphere sleeps whilst the
other remains active. However land mammals don't use this system.

Sleep is very odd. The disadvantages in terms of vulnerability to predation
seem to be so high and the advantages in terms of energy conservation so
easily achieved by other means, that there must be another reason for it,
some fundamental issue to do with information processing that we haven't
really begun to understand.

[Tom Hendricks]

What I found out was that both the neo cortex and the r-complex brain
have 2 hemispheres each. There are 2 sets to consider.

Why sleep when it seems vulnerability is so high? I think that is
why. The bigger danger is not predation but pathogens. Sleep seems to
be the time to fight those pathogens. Two thirds of lymph nodes are
near the gastrointestinal tract Note this experiment.

We found that evolutionary increases in mammalian sleep durations are
strongly associated with an enhancement of immune defences as measured
by the number of immune cells circulating in peripheral blood. This
appeared to be a generalized relationship that could be independently
detected in 4 of the 5 immune cell types and in both of the main sleep
phases. Importantly, no comparable relationships occur in related
physiological systems that do not serve an immune function. Consistent
with an influence of sleep on immune investment, mammalian species
that sleep for longer periods also had substantially reduced levels of
parasitic infection.
These relationships suggest that parasite resistance has played an
important role in the evolution of mammalian sleep. Species that have
evolved longer sleep durations appear to be able to increase
investment in their immune systems and be better protected from
parasites. These results are neither predicted nor explained by
conventional theories of sleep evolution, and suggest that sleep has a
much wider role in disease resistance than is currently appreciated.
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/9/7

[Tom Hendricks]

R-complex (reptilian brain) sleeps during REM. If so that might explain the following.

1. Muscle atonia - the muscle controlling mind, R-complex is shut down so of course muscle atonia.

2. Scrambled dreams - without the R-complex sorting out dreams it controls fight and flight capability, dreams are all neo cortex images that are excessive and without control.

3. Body temp is not regulated - because R-complex that does that, is sleeping.

4. Heart rate and blood pressure varies - because R-complex that regulates that, is sleeping.

5. Sexual arousal increases - because R-complex not on to temper it.

6. REM is shorter than NREM, because R-complex needs to be awake most of the time for best protection - whereas longer periods of NREM, or neo cortex sleep and R-complex awake, is more safe than the other way around.