Tired Minds - How sleep impacts learning and behavior and what we can do about it

Sleep is characterized by being in a state of altered consciousness, during which time sensory activity is inhibited, muscle activity is reduced and interactions with surroundings are decreased. During sleep, essential functions, such as memory consolidation, neuronal pruning, cellular repair, and restoration of vital resources for metabolic functions occur throughout the brain and body to maintain healthy brain function and physical health.
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The seminar is suitable for pet owners, veterinary professionals, animal trainers, animal behaviorists, pet guardians, and anyone with an interest in the neuroscience of training and behavior. 

1.5 Continuing Educational Units (CEUs) available:
CPDT
IAABC
KPA
PPAB
RACE
From dolphins sleeping one brain hemisphere at a time, to fruit flies having deep rest periods, nature acknowledges the importance of sleep, ensuring all animals benefit from the restoration that occurs during sleep. In dogs, sleep has been shown to play critical roles in vital functions such as immune, metabolism, and cognitive health, and disturbed sleep can act both as a trigger for disease processes and a diagnostic indicator for disease.

Does lack of sleep cause memory impairment and if so, how might that impact behavior? Is there such a thing as too much sleep? Is there evidence that behavioral issues be linked back to sleep quality and patterns? In this webinar, we will look at how sleep impacts learning and memory, both directly and indirectly through changes to processes within the brain and body. These questions and more will be answered, along with information on how we can support healthy sleep.

Learning Objectives:
  • Evaluate whether your/your client's dogs are getting enough restorative sleep and if not, whether this is having an impact on their behavior
  • Apply concepts of rest periods before, during, and after learning events
  • Develop plans to implement sleep strategies into your/your client's dogs day

Meet the instructor

Kathy Murphy BVetMed, DPhil, CVA, CLAS, MRCVS

Kathy Murphy (BVetMed, DPhil, CVA, CLAS, MRCVS) is a veterinary surgeon and neuroscientist. She recently joined the Behavior Vets team as the Chief Scientific Officer.
She graduated from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons UK in 1999, initially working in mixed clinical practice before studying for two postgraduate clinical qualifications. In 2009 she was awarded a highly prestigious Welcome Research Training Fellowship to study for her Ph.D., in Behavioral Neuroscience, at The Queens College, University of Oxford, UK. She subsequently worked in the USA as Assistant Professor of Neuroscience and Anesthesiology at the Icahn School of Medicine NYC; and is now back in the UK, where she holds a clinical-academic position as Director of the Comparative Biology Centre at Newcastle University and Director of Barking Brains Ltd (a neuroscience outreach program for the animal behavior and training community). Her clinical interest has always been anesthesia, and analgesia, since the age of 13yo and she has recently completed a residency at the European College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia. In addition to her primary career roles she was Trustee and Veterinary Advisor to the Rottweiler Welfare Association for 14 years, is a founder of Ethics First (a collective that lobbies for ethical decision-making in clinical practice), and is an Oversight Committee Member for the UK Dog Behavior and Training Charter, sits on numerous National and International boards, working groups and ethical review panels, and most of all love spending time with her own 5 dogs and her husband.
Patrick Jones - Course author