REM (Rapid Eye Movement) and the Phenomenology of Dream Analysis

Abstract
The study of REM and NREM in sleep and dream research has been of interest to psychologists for over one hundred years beginning with Freud. This writing will explore the theories of several foundational as well as more recent professionals and scientific methodologies to explore and synthesize the four stages of sleep and the analysis that continue to develop.

Introduction

The study of what occurs physiologically when we sleep involves a significant amount of changes according to Pinel (2008). Among these many changes are rapid eye movements (REM) which were discovered in 1953 by Aserinsky and Klietman (Aserinsky and Klietman, 1953, as cited in Pinel, 2008). This paper will discuss the four stages of sleep and the psychophysiology related to how sleep and dreams are analyzed through key stages of human life. During the four stages of sleep, there are a number of biopsychological changes that occur in our bodies that are relevant to examining and exploring how our bodies and minds work in those regards. The discussion in this paper will synthesize the theories of Freud, Aserinsky, Klietman, Hobson, Domhoff, as well as other significant theorists who have contributed immensely to sleep research in order to present a comprehensive overview of dream and sleep analyses. Finally, I will discuss a personal experiment I have been conducting on REM and NREM sleep and dream analysis. From these syntheses, and experimentations; parallels and contrasts will provide a comprehensive picture of how REM and NREM sleep functions are relatable to gaining greater understanding of the phenomenology of dreams analysis.

Discussion

There are brain as well as muscle functions that occur during the four stages of sleep. During the initial stages of sleep which are often recognized by drifting off, our bodies are relaxing in preparation to sleep. During this phase, "alpha waves" are activating in "low-voltage, high-frequency" phases known as "active" or "alert" wakefulness (Pinel, 2008, p. 348). I refer to this as a phase because it is the onset of the first sleep stage where individuals are drifting into the electroencephalogram (EEG) first stage of sleep (Berger and Oswald, 1962 as cited by Pinel, 2008, pp. 348-349). In the first stage of sleep, there are changes in muscle function and activity that occur in the neck muscles, the eyes close, and the motor activity of the brain becomes stimulated (2008). During this first stage, an individual is asleep, but can be wakened easily. One may feel a sense of falling or drifting as he or she approaches the next three stages of sleep during which EEG changes progress into "K complex and sleep spindle brain waves" (2008, p. 350). After we progress through the rise and fall of EEG wave frequencies in stages 2, 3, and progress to stage four, individuals remain in the second stage of deep sleep (stage four) where delta waves slow down as ordered by the brain for a longer period of time. Thereafter, the individual goes backward through the sleep stages and returns to stage one. This return to "emergent stage 1 EEG" is where REM takes place (2008). The cycle repeats itself throughout the individual's period of sleep. Each period of sleep cycles lasts approximately 90 through 100 minutes with overall four to five cycles of REM sleep and dreams taking place through a sleep cycle period (Eiser, 2005; 2008; Hobson, Pace, and Stickgold, 2000 as cited in Solms, 2000, pp. 2-3).

REM periods are said to vary in time or repetitiveness according to age as does the remembrance of dreams and their content. Out of the 90 to 100 minute repetitive cycles that occur in a night of sleep, young adults are believed to have REM sleep periods that constitute 20% of their sleep cycle. In all of us, according to Eiser (2005), REM sleep is followed by NREM with the cycle repeating itself. As the night progresses, the subject's REM periods can also progress from just minutes to the 90-100 minute time frame; with dreams taking place throughout the REM stage. What is also fascinating about [REM] sleep and dreaming is that it occurs pretty much in real time (2005; Pinel, 2008). Often when we sleep and wake up with dream recalls, there seem to be different time frames and occurrences that are remembered. This can be accurate in terms of what we recall and the dream's length as our dreams get longer in length later in the night and are more intense in the latter part of the night (Eiser, 2005). Those dreams that are more ordinary occur closer to the waking hours of the morning (or for those who work nights and sleep days, the opposite occurs).

Significant findings have concluded that REM sleep in human beings takes up about 25% of the sleep cycle period (Solms, 2000). Non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep (deep sleep stages) is explained as cycles of sleep where the body and mind are in deep states with a loss of muscle tone, and difficulty waking an individual is common. NREM is taking place in sleep stages 1, 2, and 3 and throughout anytime during the sleep cycle when rapid eye movement (REM) is not occurring (Pinel, 2008; 2000). According to Solms, (2000) 70-95% of sleep subjects have reported that they had been dreaming when awakened from the REM sleep stage (emergent stage 1 EEG), yet a mere 5-10% of NREM subjects who were awakened from their deep sleep reported that they had been dreaming. What has been concluded from this is a common belief that dreaming occurs during the REM sleep stage (Dement & Klietman, 1957a, 1957b; Hobson,, 1988; LaBuzza, 1978, p. 1537 as cited by Solms, 2000). Additionally, there is has been a common belief in sleep study research that dreaming is an accompanying occurrence of REM sleep (Hobson, Stickgold, & Pace-Schott, 1998, p. R12 as cited by Solms, 2000). What Solms (2000) evaluates is the possibility of those prior findings being erroneous, or at best, subject to contradictive discussion that suggests that although REM sleep is linked to dreaming, REM and dreaming do not have to occur conjunctively. Solms (2000) also proposes the suggestion that REM is controlled by "cholinergic brainstem mechanisms" and dreaming is controlled by a different set of brain mechanisms that are connected to "dopaminergic forebrain mechanisms" (2000).

Our recall of dreams does not have to do with whether or not we are day workers-and night sleepers, or the opposite, but rather, with REM and NREM sleep. Further, recall of dreams has more to do with when an individual is awakened. If awakened during the REM stage, individuals have a tendency to remember their dreams. However, if awakened after REM is finished, one is less likely to recall the dream (Eiser, 2005). Several things can interrupt the remembrance of a dream including the point at which the subject was awakened. According to research, emotions and circumstances that are occurring in individuals' lives, particularly fears and anxiety can affect dream recall. Further, forgetting dream content can happen as quickly as "8 minutes or...within seconds" (Eiser, 2005, p. 98). Consider a time when you were experiencing extreme fear or had a fearful encounter that was quite intense. During that stage in life, it would not be uncommon to have vivid dreams that were associated with some aspect of life that elicits fear or anxiety in you. Your dreams during that time may not be remembered as easily or could bring about past experiences that caused you to be afraid. Some schools of thought even say that the colors in dreams are associated with fears and anxiety (Robinson & Corbett, 1994). Of course this is considered speculative and controversial, but much of what is involved in sleep and dream phenomenological analysis is still very much controversial and exceptional. That is part of the fascination of sleep and dream research.

The discussions of strengths and limitations among theorists investigating sleep and dream analysis has brought about a major shift in what has been the foundational bases of REM sleep and brain functionality over the past 20 years, however, it seems that Hobson's initial findings that conclude that REM and NREM sleep is primarily controlled by "localized narrow margins within the pontine brainstem" (Hobson, Stickgold, Pace-Schott, 1998 as cited by Solms, 2000) and the prevalent contention remains that states "'cholinergic brainstem mechanisms
NREM sleep findings on the other hand strongly suggest that the subject, although having experienced dreams to a much lesser degree also has less exactness or clarity of the dream recall. NREM dreams are known as being more related to what may be occurring or relevant in an individual's life circumstances. They can be more fragmented and introspective than REM dream recalls. However, there are still exceptions related to the content of both REM and NREM dreams (Eiser, 2005; Pinel, 2008; Solms, 2000).

Activation-synthesis Theory

The study of sleep, dreams, and any connectivity with REM and NREM sleep during sleep cycles has always been a subject of controversy more prominently brought to the attention of psychologists and medicine by Freud in the early part of the 20^th century. Freud, as the psychoanalytical predecessor of Hobson was clearly one of the forerunners who studied dreams and their meanings. In the latter half of the 20^th century Freudian theories about dreams and sexual content have been determined to be unfounded without factual bases for scientifically supported conclusions, yet they must still be counted as contributory to sleep and dream research and progression in the psychology of dreams. Today, sleep and dream progress continue to evolve and we still have not completely explained all there is to know about sleeping and dream analysis but we are learning more all the time. Specifically, neurophysiology and its connection to REM sleep as well as how our emotions are connected to sleep and brain functionality has been the object of progressive dream and sleep analysis in recent years. Activation-synthesis theory addresses the idea that what is contained in our dreams stems from cerebral cortex reflections and the natural way human beings process and analyze experiences and thoughts that are input "randomly" into our brain stem while in the REM sleep stage (Eiser, 2005; Pinel, 2008, pp. 351 & 488).

Activation-synthesis theory can be considered an offshoot of Freud's psychoanalytical theories of dreams and the unconscious although it is labeled more commonly as the completely radical and different approach to dream studies (Eiser, 2005, p. 98). Ironically, had it not been for Freud's theories on dreams and their latent associations to meanings, motives, and thinking surrounding processing our dreams using the psychoanalytic model, Hobson (1998) and other contemporaries who began studying dreams and sleep theory connections to brain functionality may not have progressed as readily to the degree of experimentation that involves REM sleep by studying neurochemical interactions and the connection to the forebrain and brain stem known as activation synthesis theory (2005). Eiser (2005) himself labels activation synthesis theory as "a radical departure from previous views," however, there cannot be one stage of psychological and physiological studies and zeitgeists without recognition of the foundational studies that have led to developing more evolutionary, progressive models that further scientific studies and growth (2005, pp. 99 & 101). Let us give credit to all in pursuit toward greater scientific and mental knowledge of sleep research.

Activation-synthesis theory (AIM) has been quite significant in the study of sleep research in the area of sleep disorders, and is now becoming more accepted in the study of dreams. Activation-synthesis theory's focus on REM dreaming positions its theories and experimentation upon combining knowledge of the connectivity between the forebrain with learning and memory. Its critics object to AIM's focus on REM and failure to address NREM dreaming (Eiser, 2005; Pinel, 2008). However, critics might open their thoughts to the possibility that Activation-synthesis theory is still in many ways in its infancy and is growing.

Research Methodologies and Concepts

Many dream and sleep researchers use human subjects and their dreams in their attempts to come to conclusions about REM, NREM sleep and dream analysis when addressing the subjectivity of self in dreams. Dreams have been scored in content in these studies using the Hall/Van de Castle dream content scoring system (Domhoff, 2000a, 2003). This system consists of a "standardized set of 16 empirical scales" as well as questions and content that address ways in which to analyze the content of dreams that the dreamer can address using subject matter that categorizes topics and subjects that the dreamer is familiar with as well as unfamiliar with. It is a commonly used tool that helps researchers determine a variety of factors such as age, social and environmental factors and interactions by connecting values and thoughts to subjects' dreams and interpretations (McNamara, McLaren, & Durso, 2007).

Another method of categorizing and analyzing REM and NREM dreams that has produced conclusive findings in sleep research is known as Word Count Analyses. This method uses a software program called Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC; Pennebaker, Francis, & Booth, 2001, as cited by McNamara, et al., 2007) that searches "word-related indicators" (McNamara, 2007) to identify the subjective dreamer by emotional and social interactions. The goal is to determine what the connectors are between self and interactions to others (including environment, efficacy, and other relational issues) and to see what is identified in REM and NREM dreams. Findings by McNamara, et al. (2007) were more focused on the self, but are discussed in this paper to demonstrate the many ways that REM and NREM sleep and dreams are being researched. Findings on the self in the McNamara (2007) study concluded that the self was not an aggressor in their subjects REM and NREM dream interpretations. However, what is most interesting is that there are methods such as LIWC Word Count Analysis that can be utilized today processing with the Hall/Van de Castle dream scoring system.

REM/NREM Dream Experiment

Experimentally, what I began doing over the last two weeks while researching this paper has been to keep a dream log to determine what I dream nightly and recall upon first rising in the morning. After turning in my Outline for this paper and reading the chapter on sleep in Pinel, (2008, pp. 347-372), I became more curious about dreams and thought about the prospect of beginning my own experiment, albeit late in the term and knowing that my findings would be inconclusive.

My research experiment is innovative inasmuch as I am merely collecting my own data at this stage to see if I can determine what I am recalling during REM and NREM sleep in the way of dream recall, content, and interpretation; first by folklore methods that interpret what dreams are supposed to tell us and later by examining and interpreting what empirical research may define (such as through using a dream scoring method). I have been using a bedside journal where I keep notes of what I dream about, what colors are in my dreams (I dream in color and some African American diasporas' folklore traditions do claim that those who dream in color are more intelligent and/or creative), and what stage of sleep I am in when I am awakened from dreaming. I generally wake up through the night at least twice as a rule during which time I have been writing down the time and notes about what I was dreaming about. Written notes consist of only one to three words or numbers only, not narratives that I want to recall when I woke up in the morning and interpret from folklore or other dream interpretation books and elderly relatives who have always been interested in dreams and making interpretations (Robinson & Corbett, 1994).

My goals were to test my recall depending on whether I was in REM or had ended a REM period when I awoke, as well as to see if I was able to recall the dreams from only writing down the one word, phrase, or number during the times I woke during the night and returned to sleep for the remainder of the night. Finally, I wanted to see if the dreams that were supposed to be deemed to have certain interpretations came to fruition according to the interpretations.

This is still a work in progress as far as determining if the Hall/Van de Castle scoring system and the Word Count Analysis LIWC suggests to me that I have a potentially interesting research model for which I can begin a study of other subjects. However, from the folklore tradition point of view as well as my recall analysis if dreams that I have had over the past two weeks, I have determined that my recall is excellent when I am not experiencing stress or anxiety. Also, when I am awakened suddenly out of NREM sleep, my findings thus far conclude that I have difficulty recalling the dream content initially but often recall at least one of the dreams from my night's sleep cycle at some point throughout the day when triggered by some turn of event that occurs in my daily life. For example, I may pass a stop sign and am then able to recall at that moment immediately the dream I had the night before or up to 72 hours earlier that was related to a stop sign, stopping something, the colors of a stop sign, and what was contained in my dream that related to that.

Conclusion

There are still so many things about sleep and the phenomenology of dream analysis that are open to exploration and examination. It is such a fascinating area that has more empirical data and research attached to it today. We just have so much further to go and so many other avenues to tap into. I personally would like to see a connection to researching the brain functions of individuals who have recurring dreams and what those interpretations might show in terms of activation-synthesis theory or REM and NREM sleep and dream research in general in more non-mainstream dreaming analyses. As a practicing psychologist, it is a personal goal of mine to open of that avenue of study and see where it takes the world one hundred years from now when I only survive in print.

References

Bellamy, R. (1916, February). Review of the meaning of dreams. The Journal of Abnormal

Psychology, 10(6), 433-434. Retrieved May 3, 2008, doi:10.1037/h0069325.

Bulkeley, K., Broughton, B., Sanchez, A., & Stiller, J. (2005, September). Earliest remembered

dreams. Dreaming, 15(3), 205-222. doi:10.1037/1053-0797.15.3.205. Retrieved April

20, 2008, from PyschARTICLES database.

Domhoff, G. W. (2000a). The problems with activation-synthesis theory. Retrieved May 3, 2008

from http://www.dreamresearch.net/Articles/domhoff_200e.html

Domhoff, G. W. (2000b). The purpose of dreams. Retrieved May 3, 2008 from

http://www.dreamresearch.net/Articles/domhoff_200e.html

Domhoff, G. (2003). A critique of traditional dream theories. The scientific study of dreams:

Neural networks, cognitive development, and content analysis (pp. 135-170).

Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association. Retrieved May 9, 2008,

doi:10.1037/10463-006.

Eiser, A. S. (2005). Physiology and Psychology of dreams. Seminars in neurology. Retrieved

May 2, 2008 from PsychARTICLES database.

Foulkes, D. (1985). Dreaming: A cognitive-psychological analysis. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence

Erlbaum Associates.

Franklin, M. S., & Zyphur, M. J. (2005). The role of dreams in the evolution of the human mind.

Evolutionary Psychology, 3: 59-78. Retrieved April 20, 2008 from

www.human-nature.com/ep

Freud, S., & Crick, J. (2001, March). The interpretation of dreams: book review. Psychoanalytic

Psychology, 18(2), 401-405. doi:10.1037/0736-9735.18.2.401. Retrieved April 20,

2008, from PsychINFO database.

Freud, S. (1900). The interpretation of dreams. Standard edition of the complete psychological

works of Sigmund Freud.4, 5. Hogarth: London.

Hall, C. & Van de Castle, R. (1966). The content analysis of dre.ams New York: Appleton-

Century-Crofts.

Hobson, J. A., Pace-Schott, E., and Stickgold, R. (2000). Dreaming and the brain: Toward a

cognitive neuroscience of conscious states. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 23: 783-

842. Retrieved online May 3, 2008 from Psych INFO database.

Hobson, J. (1999, November). Arrest of firing of aminergic neurons during REM sleep:

Implications for dream theory. Brain Research Bulletin, 50(5), 333-334. Retrieved

May 6, 2008, doi:10.1016/S0361-9230(99)00146-X.

Igawa, M., Atsumi, Takahashi, K., Shiotsuka, S., Hirasawa, H., Yamamoto, R., et al. (2001,

June). Activation of visual cortex in REM sleep measured by 24-channel NIRS

imaging.

Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences, 55(3), 187-188. doi:10.1046/j.1440-1819.2001.00819.x.

Retrieved April 20, 2008, from PsychARTICLES database.

Jastrow, J. (1933). Mesmer, Franz Anton. Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, 10, 355-355.

Retrieved April 3, 2008 from Psych INFO database.

Koulack, D. (1972, August). Rapid eye movements and visual imagery during sleep.

Psychological Bulletin, 78(2), 155-158. doi:10.1037/h0032961. Retrieved April 20,

2008 from PsychINFO database.

Langdridge, D. (2006, January). Imaginative Variations on Selfhood. Existential Analysis:

Journal of the Society for Existential Analysis, 17(1), 2-13. Retrieved May 15, 2008,

from Academic Search Premier database.

Marks, G., Birabil, C., & Speciale, S. (2005, November). Adenosine A1receptors mediate

inhibition of cAMP formation in vitro in the pontine, REM sleep induction zone. Brain

Research, 1061(2), 124-127. Retrieved May 13, 2008

doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2005.08.038.

Mazur, A. Pace-Schott, E. & Hobson, J. (2002). The prefrontal cortex in sleep. Trends in

Cognitive Sciences, 6: 476-481. Retrieved online from Academic Premier Research

database.

McNamara, P., McLaren, D., & Durso, K. (2007, June). Representation of the self in REM and

NREM dreams. Dreaming, 17(2), 113-126. doi:10.1037/1053-0797.17.2.113. Retrieved

April 20, 2008 from Psych INFO database.

Nikles II, C., Brecht, D., Klinger, E., & Bursell, A. (1998, July). The effects of current-concern-

and nonconcern-related waking suggestions on nocturnal dream content. Journal of

Personality and Social Psychology, 75(1), 242-255. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.75.1.242.

Retrieved April 20, 2008 from Psych INFO database.

Palya, W. (2005, June). Encyclopedia of Psychology. People and history in Psychology.

Department of Psychology, Jacksonville State University. Retrieved March 24, 2008

from http://www.psychology.org/links/People_and_History/

Paul, G. (2005). Introduction to dreamwork as a spiritual practice. Retrieved May 5, 2008, from

PsycINFO database.

Pigman, III., G. W. (1999). The interpretation of dreams, by Sigmund Freud, translated by

Joyce Crick: a book review. Retrieved May 9, 2008 from PsychARTICLES database.

Pinel, J. P. J. (2008) (7^th ed.). Biopsychology. 348-372, and 488 Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Robinson, L. S. & Corbett, T. (1994, May). The dreamer's dictionary. New York:

Warner Book-Hachette Book Group USA.

Schultz, D.P. & Schultz, S.E. (2004). A history of modern psychology (8th ed.). Belmont, CA:

Wadsworth/ Thomson.

Schwartz, S. (2004). What dreaming can reveal about cognitive and brain functions during

sleep? A lexico-statistical analysis of dream reports. Psychologica Belgica, 44(1), 5-

42. Retrieved May 5, 2008, from PsycINFO database.

Solms, M. (2000a). Dreaming and REM sleep are controlled by different brain mechanisms.

Behavioral Brain Science, 23: 843-50. Retrieved May 5, 2008 from Academic Premier

Database.

Solms, M. (2000b, December). Forebrain mechanisms of dreaming are activated from a variety

of sources. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 23(6), 1035-1040-1040;. Retrieved

May 5, 2008, doi:10.1017/S0140525X00964021.

Van de Castle, R. R. (1994). Our dreaming mind: The role of dreams in politics art, religion,

and Psychology, from ancient civilizations to the present day. New York: Random

House, Inc.