Lecture Outline #7--Sleep and Dreams

I. Introduction to Sleep and Dreams

A. Significance of sleep and dreams in history

B. Extension of reality

C. Source of action and creativity

A. 24 hour cycle

B. Physiological and psychological phenomena that vary as a function of time of day

1. Chemical levels

2. Performance levels

3. Pain and responsiveness to drugs

4. Stereotyping (Bodenhausen study)

A. Measurement issues

B. Aserinsky (and Kleitman)--the discovery of REM sleep (1952)

C. Stages of sleep

D. Characteristics of REM sleep

1. REM sleep in different species

2. REM sleep over the life span in humans

A. Memory for dreams

B. Are dreams instantaneous? No.

C. Freud (1900)--The Interpretation of Dreams--psychoanalytic theory

1. Manifest content vs. latent content

2. Dreams are repressed memories

3. Dreams are the result of neurotic symptoms

D. Hobson (1988)--The Dreaming Brain--neuropsychological theory
1. Brain cells that are active during REM (REM-on cells) and inactive (REM-off cells)

2. Neurotransmitters--importance of acetylcholine in REM-on cells

E. What are dreams for?