These findings point to a decreased activation of executive and association cortex during desynchronized sleep, what is suggestive that the processes involved in building up wakeful thought and dreaming may be distinct. Assoc Psychophysiol Stud Sleep. Another fancy hypothesis is the one that proposes that we dream to forget, in order to delete "unwanted" information by reverse learning or unlearning (118). Recordings of the electrical activity of the brain, which we will refer to as electro-oscillograms, reveal specific patterns that express the phases of sleep in several central regions of the brain, including the phase during which most oniric activity takes place, the desynchronized or paradoxical sleep. 112. Am J Physiol 1937;118:8-14. 28. Harvey Lect 1963;58:233-97. Much effort was devoted to searching for parallels between physiological aspects of REM sleep and characteristics of associated dreams, with modest results. Advances in Sleep Research, vol. 26. yet, it is well known since Kohlschtter and Michelson (4,8) that the threshold to awaken a human being during desynchronized sleep is much lower than the one to produce wakefulness during synchronized sleep. 46. Dreaming has been a subject of cogitation since remote Antiquity. Shiromani PJ, Lai yy, Siegel JM. The Neuropsychology of Sleep and Dreaming. Roussy F, Camirand C, Foulkes D, De Koninck J, Loftis M, Kerr NH. Baust W. Die Phnomenologie des Schlafes. J Neurosci 1995;15:3500-8. & Bertini, M. Valle AC. 29. Longitudinal studies. Neurology 1999;53:2193-5. Brain Res 1996;770:192-201. Doneshka & Kehaiyov (1978) reported dreams with striking vestibular sensations. Where do dreams come from? If the animal is trying to identify the source of an odor that is located at a large distance, snout movements are expected to span wide angles at low frequencies, whereas when the source is near such movements are expected to span narrow angles, at high frequencies, just as during wakefulness. Noda H, Adey WR. 110. However, psychoanalysts take into account only a few dreams that are occasionally recalled, despite the fact that we dream four or five episodes every night, what means that the fraction of dreams we can recall is a small portion of what we in fact do experience as dreams. Electrophysiologically, it has been shown that the same type of hippocampal cells that are activated during training in a radial maze are also endogenously reactivated during sleep, which accounts for memory consolidation and for a close correlation between dreams and events preceding sleep (87). Geschichte der Physiologie. Foulkes D. Children's dreams. Rechtschaffen A, Buchignani C. The visual appearance of dreams. This is for sure the most enigmatic issue about dreaming. cognitive development. In such a condition, the brain produces a behavior that immobilizes the animal, in order to simulate it is dead and may thus become uninteresting to a predator that is in search of fresh flesh. 89. In humans a dream may be reported and its content can thus be analyzed. Much experimental work is needed before a convincing function can be ascribed to the fascinating physiological phenomenon that is dreaming. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Electrical stimulation of the nucleus reticularis pontis oralis evokes bilateral muscle atonia in decerebrate cats (52). 130. J Neurophysiol 1946;9:165-71. In cats, cortical electro-oscillograms are also desynchronized but in the hippocampus theta waves (that will be later described) predominate. Baust's data regarding the cat are also evident (38). The preferential eye movements direction may be related to the dream content and, perhaps, as such also to hemispheric dominance but it should always be taken into consideration that any movement originated by a dream is always faulty, otherwise we would perform normal behaviors during a dream, what does not happen due to the inhibition of motoneurons. Eye movements during dreaming are usually expressed as potentials of different voltages, which can be interpreted as due to distinct movements performed as a function of the movements of the dreamed of objects. In people with arterial aneurisms such a high pressure may provoke their rupture. Both frequency and voltage of theta waves in rats generally increase during oniric activity, as depicted in figure 7, and in figure 8 a clearcut episode of visual oniric activity is expressed as a potent increase in theta waves frequency and voltage, concomitantly with a burst of eye movements. There is experimental evidence that eye movements are generated near the nucleus of the abducent nerve but Pompeiano (1967) does not agree with this view (10,41). These authors argue that despite the marked suppression of desynchronized sleep provoked by tricyclic antidepressants neither selective serotonine reuptake inhibitors and mono-amino-oxydase nor learning and memory are disrupted. Nature 1989;304:111-4. Desynchronization is the rule, during this phase, in all cortical electro-oscillograms in humans and other primates. Further developments in neurobiological research, including lesion and brain imaging studies, have established a clearer view of the functional neuroanatomy of REM sleep and dreaming. WebThe psychoanalytic theory, in terms of its explanation for the function of dreams, has received much criticism from the psychological field. Although it may happen in any sleep phase, it prevails during the desynchronized phase. This causes the amygdala and hippocampus to become active, which help to influence the brain systems that control sensations, memories, and emotions. For example, it could refer to a goal that you want to reach within your lifetime or zoning out and daydreaming during the day. No wonder that dream recall is impaired in brain-damaged patients (97). It is interesting that the representation of animals in dreams of infants is quite conspicuous. 51. Induction of rapid eye movement sleep by carbachol infusion into the pontine reticular formation of the rat. 25. J Physiol (Paris) 1984;79:365-74. Our hypothesis is that the cerebellum is involved in overall corrections of the components of all kinds of behavior, including sleep. Correspondence between sites of NGFI-A inductions in sites of morphological plasticity following exposure to environmental complexity. Pompeiano and his group produced important knowledge in this field (41,42), showing that the muscle contractions that produce the motor component of oniric behaviors, such as eye and limb movements, need that the pontine gigantocellularis nucleus be intact and activated. 108. Madsen PC, Holm S, Vorstup S, Friberg L, Lassen NA, Wildschiotz LF. In this preparation body temperature is not regulated anymore and the animal has to be artificially warmed at nearly 37C. Bethesda, MD 20894, Web Policies In addition, zif-268 is up-regulated in several novelty or learning behavioral paradigms, including two-way active avoidance (104), brightness discrimination (105), and enriched environment exposure (106). At 36C, for instance, desynchronized sleep spans to about 10% of time, at 23C it occupies nearly 80% of the time, what has not been explained so far. Brainstem mechanisms of slow-wave sleep and REM sleep. In 1926, for example, Denisova & Figurin (9), recording heart and respiratory rate of sleeping children, found that both changed cyclically, what is presently known to occur as vegetative components of dreaming activity. Gottesman C, Gandolfo G, Zernicki B. Jouvet M. The role of monoamines and acetylcholine-containing neurons in the regulation of the sleep-waking cycle. 64. Hence, experiments with such animals are extremely valuable and thus will be emphasized in the present review. Wallace CS, Withers GS, George VM, Clayton OF, Greenough WT. Gottesmann C. Theta rhythm: the brain stem involvement. 106. 11. Vertes RB, Eastman KE. In humans, Hansotia and colleagues (34) found in humans, in accordance with our own observations in rats and cats, that oniric eye movements may be directed to one side or the other, not exclusively to one side, as stated by Vanni-Mercier and co-workers (29). Cesar Timo-Iaria (in memorian); Angela Cristina do Valle. In humans, both reflex activities are also deeply inhibited during desynchronized sleep. 23. 118. official website and that any information you provide is encrypted Brainstem control of the events of REM sleep. Xu Q, Xie H, Zheng D, Wu X, Zhang Y, Li T, Yan T. J Pers Med. Regional cerebral blood flow throughout the sleep-cyle an (H2O)-O-15 PET study. The reinterpretation of dreams: an evolutionary hypothesis of the function of dreaming. Brain activity during this time keeps us This neural activity is then interpreted by the brain as an internal activity. Winson (1990) believes that dreams "reflect an individual strategy for survival. Nature, 2002, submitted. The case against memory consolidation in REM sleep. The PGO potentials are correlates of dreams. 77. They may well be activated during the behaviors caused by dreams (and which are not the dreams but their consequences), that are expressed as eye, head, lips, tongue, fingers, legs and other movements, that is, the motor components of the oniric behaviors. The motor components of dreams are expressed as clearly different patterns, according to the dream content. Sleep Res 1973;4:65. 41. 63. One is that dreams are generated by the activation of neural activity in the brainstem and its signal transmission to the cortex. Hansotia P, Broste S, Ruggles K, Wall R, Friske M. Eye movement patterns in REM sleep. Its is noteworthy that Weed & Halam's data, published in 1896, are close to those reported by Rechtschaffen & Buchignani in 1992, which was calculated as the mean of the average of seven different studies published by other authors (40). The cycle of sleep in the rat (preliminary report). Vertes & Eastman (88) argue against memory consolidation during sleep, what is in opposition to Wilson & McNaughton's hypothesis (87). During wakefulness such periods in rats are concomitant with short but complete immobilization, which is well known to occur when a high degree of attention is being directed to some external object. National Library of Medicine ", "As to the oviparous creatures, it is obvious that they sleep but it is impossible to state that they dream. 83. If, as an advantage, in humans such manifestations of dreams can be related to their reported content, in non-human animals it is possible to record with a high degree of accuracy not only the motor and the vegetative manifestations of dremaing but the electro-oscillograms of many central structures as well. When they sleep, fishes keep quiet, with no apparent movements, and then they can be easily fished with a hand.". 16. Phenomenal dream content, however, is not as disorganized as such views imply. physiological function. By comparing the program with the peripheral information, that tells it how the behavior is evolving, the cerebellum produces corrections, so that the execution can match the program. WebAbstract. Pontine cholinergic neurons show fos-like immunoreactivity associated with cholinergically induced REM sleep. They found that during the desynchronized phase there occur eye movements, the reason why such phase has been given the name of REM-sleep (14). Mol Brain Res 1996;38:77-84. In 1944 Obhlmeyer, Brilmayer & Uhlstrung (10) observed that in humans penile erection occurs during sleep at intervals of 85 minutes, which is the average duration of a sleep cycle. As shown in figure 11, comparison of the instant voltage of theta waves among several regions of the brain shows that the correlation coefficient (r) may be very high. McNiss, in his book Philosophy of Sleep, published in 1854, agreed with Aristotle, regarding eye movements as a consequence of visual dreams, and Pinkerton, in Sleep and its Phenomena, also took the facial movements of dogs and cats during sleep as a manifestation of dreams (4,5). A theory that has many followers is the one that connects dreams, in particular, desynchronized sleep in general, with memory consolidation. Evarts EV. Changes in neuronal activity in association cortex of the cat in relation to sleep and wakefulness. Recently a more acceptable evidence in favor of the consolidation hypothesis arises from the study of a gene involved in neuronal activation This gene protein, zif-268 (98), binds to a specific DNA molecule present in the promoters of a variety of genes expressed in the nervous system (99) and its up-regulation is thought to initiate a program of gene regulation leading to neuronal plasticity (100). Acta Med Iug 1978;32:45-50. Also, correlation is high when theta waves in the thalamic reticular nucleus are matched to those occurring in the nucleus reticularis pontis oralis. Consciousness in waking and dreaming: the roles of neuronal oscillation and neuromodulation in determining similarities and differences. Silent functional magnetic resonance imaging demonstrates focal activation in rapid eye movement sleep. As commented upon concerning visual movements, the span of rostrum movements does probably reflect the distance of the olfactory source. Science 1987;238:797-9. WebDreams are still taken by a majority of the human kind as premonitory, ascribing them the function of telling us that something important will happen. Progr Neurobiol 1984;22:241-88. Braz J Med Biol Res 1995;28:385-96. Generally, in humans oniric activity is expressed as eye movements, what is obviously linked to vision as the main human sensory channel. Arch Ital Biol 1963;101:648-68. Head jerky movements may reflect vestibular dreams. Mori D, Shik ML, yagodnitsyn AS. 65. Some authors have not been able to find changes in heart rate and respiration during desynchronized sleep (61) but there are striking demonstrations that blood pressure is reduced (figure 6), attaining values as low as 60 mmHg of systolic pressure; heart rate is also reduced and ventilation decreases (38,62). J Abnorm Psychol 1982;91:433-6. No wonder that most dreams in humans have a visual component, explaining the reason why eye movements occur in any kind of dream, alone or as part of non-visual dreams. Visual dreams provoke eye movements. Depression of electrically induced reflexes (H- reflexes) in man during low voltage EEG sleep. Desynchronized sleep can be provoked by carbachol infusion in the pontine reticular formation (94). eCollection 2021 Aug 12. 91. 58. Shiromani PJ, Winston S, McCarley RW. Those that are specific to certain behaviors. Attempts by the unconscious to resolve a conflict of some sort, whether something recent or something from the recesses of the past. The pressure also exhibits a series of bumps, that may be related to dreaming activity (figure 6) (62). In 1999, Ribeiro et al., assaying zif-268 expression in control rats and in rats subjected to a rich environment training, found that in control animals this gene protein generally decreased, mainly in the cerebral cortex, from wakefulness to synchronized sleep and from synchronized to desynchronized sleep (109). Pompeiano O. Mechanisms responsible for spinal inhibition during desynchronized sleep. Different effects of several brain areas may affect dreaming in different ways. Behav Brain Res 1995;69:13-22. sharing sensitive information, make sure youre on a federal As shown in figure 2, information released (by some passive mechanism) or revoked from memory (through some active but entirely unknown mechanism) is combined by processes that may be equivalent to, but different from, those that produce thoughts during wakefulness (21). Behav Brain Res 1995;69:203-6. Cole AJ, Saffen DW, Baraban JM, Worley PF. Hernndez-Pen R, Ibarra GC, Morgane PJ, Timo-Iaria C. Limbic cholinergic pathways involved in sleep and emotional behavior. Dreams and Nightmares in Patients With Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Review. 56. Hobson JA, Pace-Schott EF, Stickgold R. Dreaming and the brain: toward a cognitive neuroscience of conscious states. For sure, many even trivial daily events represent a threat to anyone and are certainly used as subjects for dreams not necessarily because of their emotional component. As pointed Bol Inst Est Md Biol Mxico 1962;20:155-64. This hyperpolarization is due to an increased motoneuronal membrane permeability to chloride ions, which suggests that glycine or -GABA are released on the motoneuronal membrane during desynchronized sleep (44). (ed. Jouvet M. Le sommeil paradoxal est-il responsable d'une programmation gntique du cerveau? 2. New findings on the neurological organization of dreaming: implications for psychoanalysis. WebDream theories attempt to inform us of our deeper psychological states and shed light on the function of our dreams. For example, the Muslim physician Ib Sinna, known in Spain as Avicena, considered dreams more or less according to Aristotle's opinion but could not resist to accepting their premonitory character. And acetylcholine-containing neurons in the thalamic reticular nucleus are matched to those occurring the. Brain-Damaged patients ( 97 ) programmation gntique du cerveau the role of monoamines and acetylcholine-containing neurons in regulation. 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