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Brain-mind states: reciprocal variation in thoughts and hallucinations
R Fosse1, R Stickgold, J A Hobson
1Institute of Psychology, University of Oslo, Norway. roar_fosse@hms.harvard.edu
Psychological Science
|April 11, 2001
Summary
Thinking decreases while hallucinations increase across waking and sleep states. This shift, observed from waking to REM sleep, may be linked to brain activity changes.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Sleep Science
Background:
- Studies on sleep mentation have often excluded thinking, limiting understanding of cognitive differences between waking and sleep.
- A comprehensive view of cognition during sleep requires investigating both thoughts and hallucinations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the prevalence and patterns of thoughts and hallucinations across different wake-sleep states.
- To explore the relationship between thoughts and hallucinations during the transition from wakefulness to sleep.
Main Methods:
- Utilized experience sampling to capture subjective mentation in real-time.
- Employed home-based sleep-wake monitoring for objective physiological data.
- Conducted formal analyses of psychological data to quantify thoughts and hallucinations.
Main Results:
- Thought prevalence decreased progressively from waking, through sleep onset and non-REM sleep, to its lowest in REM sleep.
- Hallucination prevalence increased significantly across these states, peaking in REM sleep.
- Multiple hallucinations, unlike thoughts, showed a significant increase from sleep onset through REM sleep.
Conclusions:
- A reciprocal relationship exists between thoughts and hallucinations across wake-sleep states.
- This pattern may reflect a shift in brain neuromodulation, from high aminergic-to-cholinergic ratios in waking to low ratios in REM sleep.
- Changes in regional brain activation patterns likely accompany these shifts in mentation.