Until now, scientists were unable to explain why insomnia and lack of sleep sometimes make us irritable. Recently, Pierre Maquet, from the University of Liège, in Belgium, has deciphered some of the keys to this phenomenon.
Thanks to a group of volunteers, who have slept connected to a positron emission tomography or PET scan – equipment that allows us to see brain activity live – Maquet has discovered that the anterior cingulate and orbitofrontal cortices are the most sleepy areas of the brain. Lack of sleep in these regions, which are involved in emotions , could be the reason we wake up in a bad mood.
