Trends in pharmacological sciences
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Multiple arousal systems maintain waking through the actions of chemical neurotransmitters that are released from broadly distributed nerve terminals when the neurons fire. Among these, noradrenaline-, histamine- and orexin-containing neurons fire during waking with behavioral arousal, decrease firing during slow-wave sleep (SWS) and cease firing during paradoxical sleep (PS), which is also known as rapid-eye-movement sleep. ⋯ The reciprocal activities and interactions of these wake-active and sleep-active cell groups determine the alternation between waking and sleeping. Selective enhancement and attenuation of their discharge, transmitter release and postsynaptic actions comprise the substrates for the major stimulant and hypnotic drugs.
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Homeopathy is a popular but implausible form of medicine. Contrary to many claims by homeopaths, there is no conclusive evidence that highly dilute homeopathic remedies are different from placebos. ⋯ Contrary to widespread belief, homeopathy is not entirely devoid of risk. Thus, the proven benefits of highly dilute homeopathic remedies, beyond the beneficial effects of placebos, do not outweigh the potential for harm that this approach can cause.