Nov. 26, 2007 – Chris Sinton, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Internal Medicine

Dr. Sinton’s research focuses on sleep pathology.  He treats patients with sleep disorders such as sleep apneas and also conducts research on sleep using rodents.  Dr. Sinton gave a stimulating talk on the meaning of brain waves during sleep and the importance of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.  He also addressed the pros and cons of using sleep medications.  He discussed with the Exploring students the importance of naps during the day, individuals who seem to need very little sleep, and the effects of “jet lag” on sleep patterns.  He also showed films of narcoleptic dogs who are deficient in a particular brain hormone, orexin, discovered by Dr. Masashi Yanagisawa at UT Southwestern.  Finally, Dr. Sinton gave a tour for the students of his laboratory.  It was an awesome evening, and everyone was sleepy afterwards!