Bio- sleep and dreams

Question 1

Background

Answer 1

Aserinsky (1955) (a student of Kleitman) revealed that participants who were woken from REM sleep were more likely to report a vivid, visual dream than participants that woke up from NREM. They also showed that we have several sleep stages alternating between REM and NREM

Question 2

Aim

Answer 2

To investigate the relationship between eye movements and dreaming.

1. Does dream recall differ between REM and NREM stages of sleep?
2. Is there a positive correlation between estimated dream duration and REM period length?
3. Are eye movements related to the dream content?

Question 3

Hypothesis

Answer 3

1. There will be a significant association between REM sleep and dreaming.
2. There will be a positive correlation between estimated dream duration and REM period length.
3. There will be a significant association between eye movement patterns and dream content.

Question 4

Research Design

Answer 4

Approach 1: natural experiment; repeated measures design
Approach 2: True experiment using correlational study; repeated measures design
Approach 3: natural experiment; repeated measures design

Question 5

Sample

Answer 5

9 adult participants
7 males
2 females
5 were studied intensively; the rest 4 were used to confirm the results of first 5

Question 6

Procedure before the entering the lab

Answer 6

• studied under controlled laboratory
  conditions
• reported just before usual bedtime
• no caffeine or alcohol on the day
• went to bed in a quiet dark room

Question 7

Procedure for approach 1

Answer 7

• were woken either from REM or nREM
  sleep without informing which one
• immediately after waking up, they stated
  whether they were having a dream or not
• if appropriate then they described the
  dream in a recorder
• experimenter occasionally entered the
  room to ask further questions about the
  dream

Question 8

Procedure for approach 2

Answer 8

• woken up after 5 or 15 minutes in REM
  sleep
• asked to estimate the time they had been
  dreaming

Question 9

Procedure for approach 3

Answer 9

• direction of eye movements were detected
  with EEG electrodes
• woken up after a single eye movement
  pattern lasted for 1 minute.
• asked to report their dream
• woken up using doorbell

Question 10

Results

Answer 10

• uninterrupted dream stages
  -lasted for 3 to 50 minutes
  -longer later in night
  -irregular intervals 2 to 100 rapid eye
  movements

Question 11

Results for approach 1

Answer 11

• REM sleep is predominantly associated
  with dreaming
• nREM sleep is associated with periods of
  non-dreaming sleep
• dream recall in nREM awakenings
  occurred within 8 mins of REM. the dream
  might be remembered from previous REM

Question 12

Results for approach 2

Answer 12

• all the participants were able to determine
  whether they had been dreaming for 5 to
  15 minutes with high accuracy.
• 83% of the time 111 awakenings
  -exception of 1 participant who was only
  correct 65% of the time and tended to
  underestimate the length of time he had
  been dreaming

Question 13

Results for approach 3

Answer 13

• VEMD
  looking at climbers on a cliff
  climbing ladders
  throwing basketball.
• HEMD
  watching 2 people throwing tomatoes at
  each other
• little or no eye movements; driving car
• MEMD
  talking to a group of people
  searching for something
  fighting with someone

Question 14

Strengths

Answer 14

Reliability
- Standardized
same equipments
all slept in the same room
- Lab experiment
Validity
- no experimenter effect
- dream was operationalised (as they
recorded it)
- Quantitative data
- use of scientific equipment; objective
measure

Question 15

Weaknesses

Answer 15

• sample size was less hence not
  generalisable.
• lacks ecological validity

Question 16

Ethical issues

Answer 16

• they maintained confidentiality by using
  initials instead of name
• deception to participant WC as he was
  mislead about the sleep stage he woke up
  in.