Evolution of sleep : phylogenetic and functional perspectives / edited by Patrick McNamara, Robert A. Barton, Charles L. Nunn.

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 24 Feb 2016).

Introduction / Patrick McNamara, Charles L. Nunn, and Robert A. Barton -- Ecological constraints on mammalian sleep architecture / Isabella Capellini [and others] -- Sleep in insects / Kristyna M. Hartse -- Schooling by continuously active fishes: clues to sleep's ultimate function / J. Lee Kavanau -- What exactly is it that sleeps? The evolution, regulation, and organization of an emergent network property / James M. Krueger -- Evolutionary medicine of sleep disorders: toward a science of sleep duration / Patrick McNamara and Sanford Auerbach -- Primate sleep in phylogenetic perspective / Charles L. Nunn [and others] -- A bird's-eye view of the function of sleep / Niels C. Rattenborg and Charles J. Amlaner -- The evolution of wakefulness: from reptiles to mammals / Ruben V. Rial [and others] -- The evolution of REM sleep / Mahesh M. Thakkar and Subimal Datta -- Toward an understanding of the function of sleep: new insights from mouse genetics / Valter Tucci and Patrick M. Nolan -- Fishing for sleep / I.V. Zhdanova.

Research during the past two decades has produced major advances in understanding sleep within particular species. Simultaneously, molecular advances have made it possible to generate phylogenetic trees, while new analytical methods provide the tools to examine macroevolutionary change on these trees. These methods have recently been applied to questions concerning the evolution of distinctive sleep state characteristics and functions. This book synthesizes recent advances in our understanding of the evolutionary origins of sleep and its adaptive function, and it lays the groundwork for future evolutionary research by assessing sleep patterns in the major animal lineages.