van Swinderen

Podcast: Flies sleep like babies

Evolution has guided us to spend hours every night in our most vulnerable state – unconscious and unaware. It’s an easy question to ask: what’s the point?

A new discovery made by University of Queensland researchers has led to deeper understanding of the differences in how easily individuals fall asleep.

Trouble falling asleep? Your sleep switch may be to blame

Published on: 4 September 2018

According to new research from UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute, a particular area in the brain has neurons that act like a sleep switch.

Podcast: Bridging the brain-mind gap

QBI's Deputy Director (research) Professor Linda Richards, and Associate Professor Bruno van Swinderen joined Australia's Chief Scientist, Dr Alan Finkel, on a panel at the World Science Festival in Brisbane in 2018

While you were sleeping: what is consciousness and why do we dream?

While you were sleeping: the dreaming and waking brain

Is daydreaming the same as night dreaming? Why do we sleep, and what can sleep tell us about our conscious minds? What would happen if we never slept? Associate Professor Bruno van Swinderen answers.

What sleeping animals can tell us about human sleep

What sleeping animals can tell us about our sleep

Which animals dream the most? Why do we sleep? Sleep and consciousness researcher Associate Professor Bruno van Swinderen answers some burning questions about animal sleep.

Podcast: How do general anaesthetics work and what can they tell us about consciousness?

Podcast: General anaesthetics and consciousness

Why and how do we sleep and what is consciousness? Are all animals that sleep by definition conscious when they are awake? Associate Professor Bruno van Swinderen discusses his research.

General anaesthetics do more than put you to sleep

Published on: 10 January 2018

QBI researchers have found that general anaesthetics act on the brain in a more complex way than previously thought. The discovery could lead to improved drugs for surgery.