We hypothesize that rapid eye movement or REM sleep evolved, in part, to mediate sexual/reproductive behaviors and strategies. Because development of sexual and mating strategies depends crucially on early attachment experiences, we further hypothesize that REM functions to mediate attachment processes early in life. Evidence for these hypotheses comes from (1) the correlation of REM variables ...

To investigate rapid eye movement (REM) sleep regulation, eight healthy young men were deprived of REM sleep for three consecutive nights. In a three-night control sleep deprivation (CD) session 2 wk later, the subjects were repeatedly awakened from non-REM sleep in an attempt to match the awakenings during the REM sleep deprivation (RD) nights. During the RD nights the number of sleep interrup...

It is becoming established that the amygdala has a strong influence on arousal state, with most evidence indicating a role in the regulation of rapid eye movement sleep (REM). Electrically activating the central nucleus of the amygdala (CNA) can increase subsequent REM and enhance REM-related phenomena. However, drugs that may be inhibitory to CNA have been typically reported to reduce REM. Thi...

During specific rapid eye movement (REM) sleep deprivation its homeostatic regulation is expressed by progressively more frequent attempts to enter REM and by a compensatory rebound after the deprivation ends. The buildup of pressure to enter REM may be hypothesized to depend just on the time elapsed without REM or to be differentially related to non-REM (NREM) and wakefulness. This problem bea...

STUDY OBJECTIVES Sleep onset (SO) is cognitively and physiologically similar to rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, supporting the notion that REM sleep-related processes are 'covertly' active at this time. The objective was to determine if SO mentation is sensitive to REM sleep deprivation. DESIGN Two-group cross-sectional design; sleep recordings for 3 nights. SETTING Standard sleep laborator...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is more severe during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep than during non-REM sleep. We aimed to determine the features of patients with OSA who experience little REM sleep. METHODS Patients with a chief complaint of sleep-disordered breathing were enrolled. All subjects underwent overnight polysomnography (PSG) and completed questionnaires on s...

The neurophysiologic basis of near death experience (NDE) is unknown. Clinical observations suggest that REM state intrusion contributes to NDE. Support for the hypothesis follows five lines of evidence: REM intrusion during wakefulness is a frequent normal occurrence, REM intrusion underlies other clinical conditions, NDE elements can be explained by REM intrusion, cardiorespiratory afferents ...

Most depressed patients suffer from sleep abnormalities, which are one of the critical symptoms of depression. They are robust risk factors for the initiation and development of depression. Studies about sleep electroencephalograms have shown characteristic changes in depression such as reductions in non-rapid eye movement sleep production, disruptions of sleep continuity and disinhibition of r...

NARCOLEPSY IS CHARACTERIZED BY THE PRESENCE OF EXCESSIVE DAYTIME SLEEPINESS AND CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS OF DISSOCIATED RAPID EYE MOVEMENT (REM) sleep including cataplexy, hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations, and sleep paralysis.1 Normal REM sleep is characterized by tonic features, including cortical EEG desynchronization and muscle atonia, and phasic events, including bursts of rapid eye...

REM sleep is the most antiepileptic state in the sleep-wake cycle for human generalized epilepsy, yet the neural mechanism is unknown. This study verified the antiepileptic properties of REM sleep in feline generalized epilepsy and also isolated the responsible factors. Conclusions are based on 20 cats evaluated for generalized EEG and motor seizure susceptibility before and after dissociation ...