Hypnosis & Sleep Physiology

Question 1

What is Nocturnal Videopolysomnography (vPSG)?

Answer 1

vPSG is an objective method for studying, recording, and monitoring sleep (considered gold standard)

Question 2

What does vPSG consist of?

Answer 2

EEG (electroencephalogram)
EOG (electrooculogram)
EMG (electromyogram)

[Additional Assessments:
ECG (electrocardiogram)
Respiratory monitoring
Limb movement measurement]

Question 3

what does a sleep recording include?

Answer 3

-airflow measurement,
-oxyhemoglobin desaturation,
-respiratory effort assessment

Question 4

Describe the sleep macrostructure

Answer 4

1. NREM Sleep
2. REM Sleep

Question 5

Describe the stages of NREM sleep:

Answer 5

NREM 1 (drowsiness)
NREM 2 (light sleep)
NREM 3 (deep, slow-wave sleep).

Question 6

Describe the characteristics of REM sleep:

Answer 6

> EEG activation, muscle atonia, and rapid eye movements.
Dreaming is usually associated with REM stages.
Tonic and phasic types are recognized in REM sleep

Question 7

Describe a typical sleep cycle

Answer 7

1st: NREM sleep,
2nd: REM sleep approximately 80-90 minutes later.

NREM and REM sleep alternate in approximately 90-minute cycles.

Distribution:
NREM sleep: 75-80% of sleep
Deep sleep: 10-20% of sleep time
REM sleep: 10-20% of sleep time
Wakefulness: Less than 5% of the night
Stage 1 (N1): 2-5% of sleep
Stage 2 (N2): 45-55% of sleep

Question 9

What is the difference between apnoea and hypopnea?

Answer 9

Apnoea is a complete cessation of breathing for min 10sec and Hypopnea is a partial cessation

Question 10

What are suggestions?

Answer 10

“a form or type of communicable belief capable of producing and modifying experiences, thoughts and actions. Suggestions can be (a) intentional/ non-intentional, (b) verbal/nonverbal, or (c) hypnotic/ non-hypnotic”

Question 12

How do suggestions alter experience?

Answer 12

Mechanism: Suggestions mobilize representations from memory systems and alter causal attributions during pre-conscious processing.

Effect: This changes the content of our subjective experience of the world.

Impact: Consciousness and behavior can be distorted by active memory material, leading to misperceptions and behaviors that conflict with self-awareness goals.

Question 14

How does the attractor network work?

Answer 14

When given inputs similar to previous patterns or through spontaneous neural activity, it can return to these learned states. All nodes in the network are drawn towards these stable states because they have lower energy, and the firing patterns evolve to minimize energy.

Question 15

What does the neocortex (location of the attractor network) heavily relies on?

Answer 15

recurrent excitatory connections between neurons = crucial for short-term memory, attention, planning, and language processing.

Question 16

What is the Bayesian approach?

Answer 16

A statistical algorithm for probabilistic estimation that relies on the optimal combination of prior knowledge and new data.

Question 17

Define hyponosis:

Answer 17

controlled modulation of components of cognition e.g. awareness, volition, perception, and belief

Question 18

What % of alpha EEG activity is visible in relaxed wakefulness and in which lobe?

Answer 18

Relaxed Wakefulness: >50% occipital alpha EEG activity.