Visual behavior mediated by retinal projections directed to the auditory pathway. The New York Times, April 25, 2000. Canadian Broadcasting Corp - Quirks and Quarks, April 29, 2000. Now he is exploring whether the hippocampus, in concert with memory machinery elsewhere in the brain, helps ensure that particular memories will become enduring ones as we sleep. The drug, Sarafem, also known as Prozac, is a serotonin-uptake blocker.
Serotonin affects mood and appetite.
In earlier research, Judith Wurtman, a BCS research scientist, showed that woman with PMS overeat carbohydrates. She speculated that this overeating increased brain serotonin which diminished feelings of depression and anger. This was the first suggestion that some PMDD and PMS symptoms might be caused by inadequate brain serotonin. The Wurtmans tested this theory by giving affected women serotonin update blockers such as Prozac, which increases brain serotonin, and symptoms improved. While studies have shown that relatively large doses of the hormone melatonin can put people to sleep, researchers in Richard Wurtman's lab now report that small doses which mimic the amount that normally circulates in the body also improves the sleep of elderly insomniacs.