scholarly journals THE MYSTERY OF DREAMING AND REM SLEEP

MANASA ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Anton Coenen

Sleep is usually related to dreaming. However, it is still unknown why people dream and what is the importance of having a dream. This article will explore previous theories regarding dreaming and its association with REM sleep. The earliest research on sleeping and dreaming was marked by Eugene Aserinsky and professor Nathaniel Kleitman, which found a new stage of sleep called rapid eye movement or REM sleep. Then William Dement developed more research specifically in the field of dream observation. Both Aserinsky and Dement, along with Kleitman as their supervisor, became pioneers in sleep and dream studies. More studies were then developed with theory and hypothesis that tried to explain the mystery of dreaming, such as psychoanalytical dream theory and the activation – synthesis hypothesis. Despite both perspectives were opposed, those studies helped researcher in the field of dream to understand the relation between dreaming and REM sleep. Future research is needed in order to conduct a reliable interpretation of the manifest dream content and a stronger scientific basis in understanding the latent content of the dream.

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert W. Glosemeyer ◽  
Susanne Diekelmann ◽  
Werner Cassel ◽  
Karl Kesper ◽  
Ulrich Koehler ◽  
...  

Abstract Healthy sleep, positive general affect, and the ability to regulate emotional experiences are fundamental for well-being. In contrast, various mental disorders are associated with altered rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, negative affect, and diminished emotion regulation abilities. However, the neural processes mediating the relationship between these different phenomena are still not fully understood. In the present study of 42 healthy volunteers, we investigated the effects of selective REM sleep suppression (REMS) on general affect, as well as on feelings of social exclusion, cognitive reappraisal (CRA) of emotions, and their neural underpinnings. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging we show that, on the morning following sleep suppression, REMS increases general negative affect, enhances amygdala responses and alters its functional connectivity with anterior cingulate cortex during passively experienced experimental social exclusion. However, we did not find effects of REMS on subjective emotional ratings in response to social exclusion, their regulation using CRA, nor on functional amygdala connectivity while participants employed CRA. Our study supports the notion that REM sleep is important for affective processes, but emphasizes the need for future research to systematically investigate how REMS impacts different domains of affective experience and their neural correlates, in both healthy and (sub-)clinical populations.


1974 ◽  
Vol 124 (583) ◽  
pp. 547-553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugh Firth

Almost all sleep-promoting drugs distort the natural pattern of sleep by suppressing rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and cause a rebound to above-normal values on withdrawal which typically lasts about six weeks (Oswald, 1968, 1969). Furthermore, barbiturates reduce the number of eye movements per unit time in REM sleep (Oswald et al., 1963; Baekeland, 1967; Lester et al., 1968; Feinberg et al., 1969), with a rebound in eye movement (EM) profusion on withdrawal (Oswald, 1970). Non-barbiturate hypnotics do likewise, also with a rebound in EM profusion on withdrawal (Allen et al., 1968; Lewis, 1968).


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. El-dosuky

Apart from being an audacious attempt and a masterpiece, Freud's Interpretation of Dreams has provoked controversy since its publication. After the neurological linkage between Rapid Eye Movement(REM) sleep and dreams, many hypotheses are proposed focusing on REM or its accompanied dreams.This paper reviews recent discoveries regarding the neuro-cognitive aspects ofsleep,dreaming,and emotions as a dream ingredient.This paper assumes that a dream content is decomposable into a sequence of Timed Artificial Dream Actions (TADAs) and that dream interpretation resembles the ability of an expert system explaining HOW and WHY questions. Freud tried to answer WHY each dream ingredient is being incorporated. The inverse of this process is to answer HOW a TADA is formed, and it is the concern of this paper.Based on dream-contents, an operational model for dream ingredients is proposed.The proposed TADA generator, nicknamed Oneiros, is decomposed into three modules Morpheus, Phantasos and Phobetor.Morpheus is responsible for the lexical processing of memory contents, in order to perform tasks such as extracting objects, emotions associated with objects, and any object alterations.Phobetor is responsible for extracting viewer emotions, and phobetic-specific aspects.Phantasos is responsible for the actual generation of a TADA.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 159-159
Author(s):  
Tiana Broen ◽  
Tomiko Yoneda ◽  
Jonathan Rush ◽  
Jamie Knight ◽  
Nathan Lewis ◽  
...  

Abstract Previous cross-sectional research suggests that age-related decreases in Rapid-Eye Movement (REM) sleep may contribute to poorer cognitive functioning (CF); however, few studies have examined the relationship at the intraindividual level by measuring habitual sleep over multiple days. Applying a 14-day daily diary design, the current study examines the dynamic relationship between REM sleep and CF in 69 healthy older adults (M age=70.8 years, SD=3.37; 73.9% female; 66.6% completed at least an undergraduate degree). A Fitbit device provided actigraphy indices of REM sleep (minutes and percentage of total sleep time), while CF was measured four times daily on a smartphone via ambulatory cognitive tests that captured processing speed and working memory. This research addressed the following questions: At the within-person level, are fluctuations in quantity of REM sleep associated with fluctuations in next day cognitive measures across days? Do individuals who spend more time in REM sleep on average, perform better on cognitive tests than adults who spend less time in REM sleep? A series of multilevel models were fit to examine the extent to which each index of sleep accounted for daily fluctuations in performance on next day cognitive tests. Results indicated that during nights when individuals had more REM sleep minutes than was typical, they performed better on the working memory task the next morning (estimate = -.003, SE = .002, p = .02). These results highlight the impact of REM sleep on CF, and further research may allow for targeted interventions for earlier treatment of sleep-related cognitive impairment.


2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sudhansu Chokroverty

Recent research has generated an enormous fund of knowledge about the neurobiology of sleep and wakefulness. Sleeping and waking brain circuits can now be studied by sophisticated neuroimaging techniques that map different areas of the brain during different sleep states and stages. Although the exact biologic functions of sleep are not known, sleep is essential, and sleep deprivation leads to impaired attention and decreased performance. Sleep is also believed to have restorative, conservative, adaptive, thermoregulatory, and consolidative functions. This review discusses the physiology of sleep, including its two independent states, rapid eye movement (REM) and non–rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, as well as functional neuroanatomy, physiologic changes during sleep, and circadian rhythms. The classification and diagnosis of sleep disorders are discussed generally. The diagnosis and treatment of the following disorders are described: obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, narcolepsy-cataplexy sydrome, idiopathic hypersomnia, restless legs syndrome (RLS) and periodic limb movements in sleep, circadian rhythm sleep disorders, insomnias, nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy, and parasomnias. Sleep-related movement disorders and the relationship between sleep and psychiatric disorders are also discussed. Tables describe behavioral and physiologic characteristics of states of awareness, the international classification of sleep disorders, common sleep complaints, comorbid insomnia disorders, causes of excessive daytime somnolence, laboratory tests to assess sleep disorders, essential diagnostic criteria for RLS and Willis-Ekbom disease, and drug therapy for insomnia. Figures include polysomnographic recording showing wakefulness in an adult; stage 1, 2, and 3 NREM sleep in an adult; REM sleep in an adult; a patient with sleep apnea syndrome; a patient with Cheyne-Stokes breathing; a patient with RLS; and a patient with dream-enacting behavior; schematic sagittal section of the brainstem of the cat; schematic diagram of the McCarley-Hobson model of REM sleep mechanism; the Lu-Saper “flip-flop” model; the Luppi model to explain REM sleep mechanism; and a wrist actigraph from a man with bipolar disorder. This review contains 14 highly rendered figures, 8 tables, 115 references, and 5 MCQs.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Po-Chi Chan ◽  
Hsun-Hua Lee ◽  
Chien-Tai Hong ◽  
Chaur-Jong Hu ◽  
Dean Wu

Rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD) is a parasomnia, with abnormal dream-enacting behavior during the rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. RBD is either idiopathic or secondary to other neurologic disorders and medications. Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is the third most common cause of dementia, and the typical clinical presentation is rapidly progressive cognitive impairment. RBD is one of the core features of DLB and may occur either in advance or simultaneously with the onset of DLB. The association between RBD with DLB is widely studied. Evidences suggest that both DLB and RBD are possibly caused by the shared underlying synucleinopathy. This review article discusses history, clinical manifestations, possible pathophysiologies, and treatment of DLB and RBD and provides the latest updates.


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