History

The Development of the European Sleep Research Society (ESRS)

The idea of a European sleep society germinated during an international sleep symposium, "Die Natur des Schlafes / The Nature of Sleep", which was organized by U. J. Jovanović and held in Würzburg 1971. Prof. Werner P. Koella (Basel) was charged with the task of organizing a sleep congress and preparing the foundation of a sleep society.  A founding committee, including Drs. Walter Baust (Düsseldorf),  Claude Gottesmann (Nice), Uroš J. Jovanović (Würzburg), Werner P. Koella (Chairman), Ian Oswald (Edinburgh) and Liviu Popoviciu, was established.

The late Professor W.R. Hess, the most eminent Swiss Sleep Researcher, agreed to act as the Honorary President of this First Sleep Congress.

More than 300 researchers, students and other persons interested in sleep, from all over Europe, including the countries "behind" the Iron Curtain, the Americas and the Near and the Far East attended the founding congress. Sleep researchers from the following countries were present: France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Holland, England, Scotland, Germaniy, Yugoslavia, Rumania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Israel, Japan, Canada, and the United States.

The Scientific Program, which started after the Opening ceremony on the morning of October 3rd, consisted of 5 symposia with invited speakers and 86 free communications, all dealing with various themes connected to the physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology and psychology, as well as the various clinical aspects of sleep. A series of informal gatherings throughout the evening hours and a banquet on a large River-Boat helped very much to bring the "sleepers" from so many countries together.

The most important gathering of our Congress, with the most far-reaching results, was probably the Business-Meeting during the late afternoon of the 4th of October, at which about 200 of the Congress visitors participated in the founding of ESRS, the now official European Sleep Research Society. Its main "objective    ...... should be to promote interest in, and to facilitate the dissemination of, new information about sleep research and related topics". The Founding Committee guided the assembly through the various businesses, established the Rules, and the officers were elected: President: W. P. Koella, Basel, Switzerland; Vice-President: G. F. Rossi, Rome, Italy; Secretary: D. M. Loew, Basel, Switzerland; Assistant Secretary: D. Schneider, Brugg, Switzerland; Treasurer: D. Scollo-Lavizzari, Basel, Switzerland. In addition to the officers, a Scientific and Publication Committee, under the chairmanship of W. Baust was established. This Founding Meeting of ESRS finally was terminated with the signing up of 199 Founding Members to the new society.

Some months after the Founding Congress a 525-page book, SLEEP, edited by W. P. Koella and P. Levin, appeared, that contained all the Symposia and the Free Communications presented at the Basel Congress. "The Organizing Committee of the Congress decided to publish the proceedings with a twofold aim: first to offer to all of the participants a complete set of all information disseminated during the Congress and, second, to make available to all those interested in sleep research, a selection of the latest advances in this field," (Preface of SLEEP, 1973). This was the start of a series of 10 books with short papers "Mini-Papers", which documented the symposia and workshops, and selected free communications and posters.

The Congresses of the European Sleep Research Society (ESRS) -Earlier phase (1971-1990)

The First European Congress of Sleep Research (Basel, Switzerland, October 3-6, 1972)
The most important gathering of our Congress, with the most far-reaching results, was probably the Business-Meeting during the late afternoon of the 4th of October, at which about 200 of the Congress visitors participated in the founding of ESRS, the now official European Sleep Research Society.

The Second European Congress of Sleep Research (Rome, Italy, April 8-11, 1974)
Mario Bertini chaired the Local Committee with 19 members, all interested and engaged in Sleep Research, and working in anyone of the sleep labs in Rome, Milan, Pisa, Ancona, Bologna. Professor Guiseppe Moruzzi of Pisa was not only Honorary Presidency of the Congress but participated also in a memorable round table discussion on the Functions of Sleep. The other distinguished participants were W. C. Dement, I. Oswald, W. P. Koella, E. Hartman, T. Radil-Weiss, D. Foulkes, and G. F. Rossi The scientific program consisted of 5 Symposia and 80 free communications.

The five symposia were dedicated to the following subjects: sleep and instinct (chaired by P. L. Parmeggiani), endocrinology and biochemistry of sleep (V.G. Longo and W. P. Koella), sleep episodes (P. Passouant), psychology of sleep and dreaming (D. Foulkes), sleep and intracranial pathology (D. H. Ingvar)

At the Business Meeting 14 new members from Italy, France, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, Germany and the USA were accepted into the ESRS. Except for Gian-Franco Rossi, who wanted to be replaced as Vice-President by Mario Bertini, the Board of Officers was re-elected. Werner P. Koella was to remain President for another "intercongressional period" and Dieter Loew, Dieter Schneider-Helmert and G. Scollo. Lavizzari were to remain Secretary, Assistant Secretary and Treasurer, respectively, for as long as they wished to handle the job. Beginning with the second congress it became a tradition that the organizer of the congress was elected as Vice-President for the next turn of the Board. At the meeting it was decided to collect an annual membership fee of 30 SFr.
Publication: Sleep 1974, Proceedings of the Second ESRS Congress, P. Levin, W. P. Koella (eds.), Basel, Karger 1975.

The Third European Congress of Sleep Research (Montpellier, France, September 6-10, 1976)

The Scientific Program of the Congress was prepared by Pierre Passouant. At that time there was no call for symposium proposals and the local organizer almost entirely alone made decisions regarding the topics and chairmen. The equilibrium between the nationalities of the chairmen was not a major issue: Five chairmen were French, two were American, one Italian and one British. The result was a success, with three Symposia and five Workshops. Symposia: Significance of PGO waves (D. C. Brooks, New York), Sleep and Epilepsy (P. Passouant, Montpellier), Sleep and Performance (W. B. Webb, Gainesville and O. Benoit, Paris).

Workshops: Sleep and the Neurovegetative System (E. Lugaresi, Bologna), Genetics and Sleep (J.L. Valatx, Lyon), Sleep and Memory (L. Weiskrantz, Oxford), Sleep and Environment (Y. Ruckebusch, Toulouse) and Critical Survey of Sleep Stages (G. C. Lairy, Paris).

Publication: Sleep 1976, Proceedings of the Third ESRS Congress, W. P. Koella, P. Levin (eds.), Basel, Karger 1977.

 

The Fourth European Congress of Sleep Research (Tirgu-Mureş, Romania, September 11-15, 1978)

Prof. Liviu Popoviciu chaired the Local Committee, which prepared the congress in close cooperation with P. Passouant, President of the ESRS. Deciding to have a Congress in one of the most austere Eastern Countries was not without any risk, both from the practical and the political point of view. However, despite the fact that Prof. Passouant knew L. Popoviciu very well as Dr. Popoviciu had been a fellow in Passouant's laboratory in 1966/1967, communications between Montpellier and Tirgu-Mures took time and it was difficult to evaluate the quality of the facilities which would be offered for the scientific sessions, the lodging and the food. Some members were opposed to have a Congress in a communist country and refused to attend whereas others accepted to participate but clearly expressed their opposition to the political regime while in Romania. Michel Jouvet had very strong words against the regime at the opening ceremony, and a team conducted by J.L. Valatx asked and obtained permission to visit political prisoners during the Congress.

The special lecture given during the Congress was by Michel Jouvet on Paradoxical sleep and genetic programming of the brain. There were three symposia: Physiological and Pathological Aspects of Sleep Onset, chaired by P. L. Parmeggiani, Nutrition and Sleep, chaired by I. Oswald, and Sleep and Pathology of the Child, chaired by L. Popoviciu and G. C. Lairy.

There were also three workshops: Sleep and Coma, chaired by M. Baldy-Moulinier, Hypophyseal Secretions and Sleep, chaired by P. Passouant, and Idiopathic Hypersomnia, chaired by B. Roth.

Publication: Sleep 1978. Proceedings of the 4^th ESRS Congress, L. Popoviciu, B. Aşgian, G. Badiu (eds.), Basel, Karger 1980.

 

The Fifth European Congress of Sleep Research (Amsterdam, The Netherlands, September 2-5, 1980)

Only ten months before the planned date of the congress, Amsterdam had to replace another promised venue, which dropped out unfortunately. In spite of the unusual short preparation time the congress became a great success, with about 300 participants. 

Local Organizing Committee: Piet Visser, Amsterdam (Chair), H. A. C. Kamphuisen (Vice-Chair), J. Snel (Treasurer), M. Veenman-van der Linden (Secretary); J. Bastiaans, Leiden; D. D. Breimer, Leiden; A. Bruzova, Amsterdam; M. A. Corner, Amsterdam;  R. H. van den Hoofdakker, Groningen; W. P. Koella, Basel; A. Kumar, Amsterdam; D. Schneider-Helmert, Königsfelden; A. H. M. Schoenmakers, Tilburg.

Presentations: Publication: Sleep 1980, Proceedings of the 5^th ESRS Congress, W. P. Koella (eds.), Basel, Karger 1981.

Special lectures: (1) M. A. Corner: On the role of active (REM) sleep in ontogenesis of the central nervous system, (2) D. Foulkes: Dreams and dream research, and (3) P. Passouant: La narcolepsie.

Symposia: (1) Clinical effects of sleep deprivation in endogenous depression (Chair: R. H. van den Hoofdakker), (2) Circadian rest-activity and sleep- wake rhythms (Chair: A. A. Borbély), and (3) Sleep and emotional stress (Chairs: D. Schneider-Helmert, P. Visser).

Workshops: (1) Periodic hypersomnia (Chairs: M. Billiard, B. Roth), (2) Hypnotics and insomnia models in animal and man (Chairs: R. Scherschlicht, W. P. Koella), (3) Special symposium on dreams (Chairs: D. Lehmann, I. Strauch), (4) Chronobiology, shiftwork and sleep (Chair: O. Benoit), and (5) Traffic noise, sleep and performance (Chairs: A. Kumar, A. Muzet). For the first time, four additional workshops were organized by pharmaceutical companies. Sixty Mini-Papers (Free communications and posters) were selected for the congress proceedings.

Publication: Sleep 1980, Proceedings of the 5^th ESRS Congress, W. P. Koella (ed.), Basel, Karger 1981.

 

The Sixth European Congress of Sleep Research (Zürich, Switzerland, March 23-26, 1982)

Local Organizing Committee: Alexander Borbély (Chair), Zürich; Jean Michel Gaillard, Geneva; Dietrich Lehmann, Zürich; Maija Loepfe, Zürich; Inge Strauch, Zürich; Irene Tobler, Zürich.

Special lectures: (1) Michel Jouvet: Hypnogenic indolamine-dependent factors and paradoxical sleep rebound, (2) Gerard Groos: Regulation of the circadian sleep-wake cycle, and (3) U. Moser  et al.: Experiences with computer simulation of dream processes.

Symposia: (1) Information processing during sleep (Chairs: D. Lehmann, M. Bertini), (2) Autonomic nervous system and sleep physiology (Chairs: P. L. Parmeggiani, F. Obal, Jr.), and (3) The rational use of hypnotic drugs (Chairs: I. Oswald, L. Garma).

Workshops: (1) Endogenous sleep factors (Chairs: R. Ursin, A. A. Borbély), (2) Phylogenetic approaches to the functions of sleep. (Chairs: I. Tobler, J. Horne), and (3) Use of sleep laboratories in clinical practice (Chairs: M. Billiard, S. Smirne)

The Scientific and Publications Committee selected 80 out of 130 submitted papers as Mini-Papers for inclusion into the congress proceedings.

Publication: Sleep 1982, Proceedings of the 6^th ESRS Congress, W. P. Koella (ed.), Basel, Karger 1983.

 

The Seventh European Congress of Sleep Research (Munich, Germany, September 3-7, 1984)

Local Organizing Committee: E. Rüther, H. Schulz (Chairs), M. Berger, W. Ehrenstein, P. Hoff, S. Kubicki, L. Meyrahn, R. Wever, D. Bruck, R. Engel, B. Knab, J. Kugler, N. Nedopil, J. Wilde-Frenz, S. Campbell, W. P. Koella, R. Lund, R. Steinberg, and J. Zulley.

Symposia: (1) Neurotransmitters and sleep (Chairs: W. P. Koella, J. M. Monti), (2) Chronic insomnia (Chair: M. Billiard), and (3) Temperature regulation and sleep (Chair: P. L. Parmeggiani)

Workshops: (1) Developmental aspects of sleep and sleep disturbances (Chairs: P. Salzarulo, J. Adrien), (2) Vigilance, sleepiness, and performance (Chairs: T. Akerstedt, W. P. Koella), (3) Non-pharmacological treatments of sleep disorders (Chairs: I. Strauch, J. Touchon), (4) Human slow-wave sleep (Chair: J. A. Horne), and (4) Neuroendocrinology of sleep (Chair: E. van Cauter).

The Scientific and Publications Committee selected 80 out of 130 submitted papers as Mini-Papers for inclusion into the congress proceedings.

Publication: Sleep ‘84, Proceedings of the 7^th ESRS Congress, W. P. Koella, E. Rüther, H. Schulz (eds.), Basel, Karger 1985.

 

The Eighth European Congress of Sleep Research (Szeged, Hungary, September 1-5, 1986)

Local Organizing Committee: F. Obál (Chair), Gy. Adám, F. Bari, Gy. Benedek, Gy. Dibo, D. Fehér, F. Gorgényi, P. Halász, G. Inhász, T. Kukorelli, I. Mészáros, P. Molnár, A. Nagy, I. Pál, Gy. Pubicsek, J. Szilárd, T. O. Zoltáu. Congress Secretariat: F. Obál Jr., P. Aföldi.

The Congress Proceedings contained the winning paper of the W. R. Hess-Prize by the Dres. Scott S. Campbell and Jürgen Zulley, Napping as a biological rhythm: disentrainment of the human sleep/wake-system. The Prize was sponsored jointly by the Gustav Fischer Verlag and Werner P. Koella. The W. R. Hess Prize was given only once, and did not become a "permanent fixture", as planned by the Prize Committee. Fortunately, this was the starting point for different other prizes of the ESRS, which should follow.

Special lectures: (1) P. L. Parmeggiani: Central representation of sleep behavior revisited, (2) A. Borbély: Pharmacology of sleep: new perspectives, and (3) Ian Oswald: The function of sleep in restoring the tissues.

Symposia: (1) The organization and regulation of sleep - Various models (Chair: W. P. Koella), (2) Physiological functions in sleep (Chair: P. L. Parmeggiani), (3) Information processing during sleep (Chair: P. Halász), (4) New hypnotics (Chair: J.-M. Gaillard), (5) Mental activity in sleep and wake (Chairs: M. Bosinelli, P. Salzarulo), (6) Phylogeny of sleep (Chair: I. Tobler), (7) Endogenous sleep factors - a critical approach (Chair: J. Adrien), (8) Epidemiology of sleep disorders (Chair: M. Partinen), (9) Sleep and depression (Chair: A. Witz-Justice), and (10) Motility in sleep - normal or abnormal phenomena (Chair: P. Lavie).

The Scientific and Publications Committee selected 80 out of close to 150 submitted papers as Mini-Papers for inclusion into the congress proceedings.

Publication: Sleep ‘86, Proceedings of the 8^th ESRS Congress, W. P. Koella, F. Obál, H. Schulz, P. Visser (eds.), Basel, Karger 1988.

 

The Ninth European Congress of Sleep Research (Jerusalem, Israel, September 4-9, 1988)

Local Scientific Advisory Committee: P. Lavie, A. Hefez, H. Babkoff, Z. Giora, N. Gadoth, Z. Elezar.

Local Organizing Committee: P. Lavie (Chair), J. Zomer, R. Peled, B. Shahal, S. Shoham, C. R. Gordon, A. H. Rubin, M. Cohen.

Special lectures: (1) P. L. Parmeggiani: Lecture of the President, The behavioural state: paradigm or reality?, (2) R. J. Broughton: Evoked potentials and sleep-wake states in man, and (3) R. Wittern: Sleep theories in the Antiquity and in the Renaissance.

Symposia: (1) Transient insomnia, shift-work and jet lag (Chair: T. Akerstedt), (2) Sleep in pediatrics (Chair: P. Salzarulo), (3) Application of brain imaging methods in sleep research (Chair: D. Lehmann), (4) Sleep and hypothermia (Chair: P. L. Parmeggiani), (5) Sleep pharmacology: transmitter and receptor mechanisms (Chairs: A. A. Borbély, W. B. Mendelson), (6) Narcolepsy - new developments (Chair: H. Schulz), (7) Sleep and epilepsy (Chair: A. C. Declerck), and (8) Brain activity and dreaming (Chair: L. Murri).

The Scientific and Publications Committee selected 46 out of over 90 submitted papers as minipapers for inclusion into the congress proceedings. When Professor Werner P. Koella (Basel), the "Founding Father" of the European Sleep Society, decided to decline as Editor-in-Chief of the European Congress on Sleep books, Jim Horne (Loughborough) was appointed as a new Editor.

Publication: Sleep ‘88, Proceedings of the 9^th ESRS Congress, J. Horne (ed.), Basel, Karger 1989.

The Tenth European Congress of Sleep Research (Strasbourg, France, May 20-25, 1990)

Local Organizing Committee: D. Kurtz (Chairman), J. Krieger (Secretary), A. Muzet, E. Hirsch, J.-P. Libert, C. Marescaux; G. Micheletti, L. Rumbach.

Symposia: (1) New approaches to dream analysis (Chairs: C. Cipolli, V. Rotenberg), (2) Models of human sleep regulation (Chairs: P. Achermann, D. G. M. Beersma), (3) Circadian aspects of sleep (Chairs: J. Zulley, O. Benoit), (4) Sleep in rodents: basic mechanisms (Chairs: I. Tobler, J.-L. Valatx), (5) Hormones and sleep (Chairs: F. Obál Jr., G. Brandenberger), (6) Environmental influences on sleep (Chairs: A. Muzet, P. Lenzi), (7) New developments in sleep pharmacology (Chairs: D. Stenberg, C. Gillin), (8) Hormonal and metabolic implications of obstructive sleep apnea (Chairs: P. Jennum, J. Krieger), (9) New developments in clinical sleep research (Chairs: J. H. Peter, P. Linkowski, M. Berger), and - for the first time - (10) Young Scientists' Symposium (Chairs: D. Kurtz, J. A. Horne); presenting young scientists were: C. Aström (Copenhagen), J. Ujszászi (Budapest), E. Schramm (Mannheim), A. Sadeh (Haifa), and E. Hirsch (Strasbourg).

The chairpersons wrote in their introduction to the Young Scientists' Symposium as follows: "This symposium is a new innovation for ESRS Congresses, intended to bring greater attention to "new blood" in the field of European sleep research. The participants have recently completed their doctorates, or are about to do so. Their work has been selected, here, on the basis of merit, innovation, and the recommendations of senior scientists in the field of sleep research."

Workshop: Education about sleep in Europe (Chair: P. Salzarulo)

The Scientific and Publications Committee selected 80 out of 130 submitted papers as Mini-Papers for inclusion into the congress proceedings.

Publication: Sleep ‘90, Proceedings of the 10^th ESRS Congress, J. Horne (ed.), Bochum, Pontenagel Press, 1990.

 

The ESRS since the 90´s

Eleventh European Congress of Sleep Research (Helsinki, Finland, 1992)

Twelfth European Congress of Sleep Research
(Firenze, Italy, 1994)

Thirteenth European Congress of Sleep Research (Brussels, Belgium, 1996)

Fourteenth European Congress of Sleep Research (Madrid, 1998)

Fifteenth European Congress of Sleep Research (Istanbul, Turkey, 2000)

Sixteenth European Congress of Sleep Research (Reykjavik, Iceland, 2002)           

Seventeenth European Congress of Sleep Research (Prague, Czech Republic, 2004)

Eighteenth European Congress of Sleep Research (Innsbruck, Austria, 2006)

Nineteenth European Congress of Sleep Research (Glasgow, United Kingdom, 2008)

 

 The Boards of the ESRS and their Members
 Members of the Scientific Committee

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