A Motor Theory of Sleep Control

To identify neurons involved in sleep generation, we have performed whole-brain screening for sleep active and sleep promoting neurons. Sleep is controlled by a highly distributed network spanning the forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain, and most sleep neurons are part of the central somatic and autonomic motor circuits. The intimate association between the sleep and the two motor control networks suggests that a primary function of sleep is to promote biological processes incompatible with movement.