In 1948, in collaboration with the Italian neurophysiologist Giuseppe Moruzzi, Magoun identified the brain center responsible for the state of sleep: electrical stimulation of the brain stem, by Moruzzi and Magoun found a link between the station cerebellum and motor cortex, producing EEG waves typical of a state of intense supervision.
With further investigation showed that both the deep brain stimulation of this structure, which they named "reticular formation", caused the awakening of the animal, while its destruction made him fall into a coma permanent.
[2][3] Are considered "classics" those works that have been cited in over 400 scientific papers[4] and Moruzzi Magoun laid the foundations for studying the physiology of sleep.
Magoun took part in numerous projects and research in anatomy and physiology was one of the fathers of the neuroscience, the multidisciplinary approach to the study of nervous system.
In California, besides the study of the factors that control sleep and waking, Magoun was interested in neuroendocrinology, showing among other things, the important role of 'hypothalamus.