Brain potentials associated with the onset and offset of rapid eye movement (REM) during REM sleep

The relationship between dreaming and rapid eye movements (REM) during REM sleep is still controversial. This study records the brain potentials time-locked to the onset and offset of REM in 11 healthy young volunteers. Before the onset of REM, no presaccadic readiness potential was found. Conversely, two positive potentials (P1 and P2) appeared following the offset of REM. The latter potentials were dominant in the parieto-occipital area. These findings suggest that REM is initiated without preparation but elicits some information-processing activities that were speculated to occur in the cortical visual area. The data support the activation-synthesis or association hypothesis of dreaming rather than the scanning hypothesis.