Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 29, 2026
09:55
Use of a Psychophysiological Script-driven Imagery Experiment to Study Trauma-related Dissociation in Borderline Personality Disorder
Published on: March 8, 2018
State dissociation, human behavior, and consciousness
Mark W Mahowald1, Michel A Cramer Bornemann, Carlos H Schenck
1Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center, Hennepin County Medical Center, Department of Neurology, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN 55415, USA. mahow002@umn.edu
Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry
|September 13, 2011
Summary
Sleep can be a local, not just whole-brain, phenomenon. This explains mixed sleep-wake states and altered consciousness, impacting conditions from narcolepsy to schizophrenia.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Sleep Science
- Consciousness Studies
Background:
- Sleep and wakefulness are traditionally viewed as distinct states.
- Emerging evidence suggests sleep can be a localized, rather than global, brain phenomenon.
- This local nature may explain the coexistence of elements from different states (e.g., wakefulness and REM sleep).
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the concept of local sleep phenomena.
- To investigate the implications of local sleep for consciousness and its disorders.
- To highlight the clinical and forensic relevance of dissociated sleep-wake states.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on sleep states and consciousness.
- Analysis of clinical phenomena associated with mixed sleep-wake states.
- Theoretical exploration of neural binding mechanisms in consciousness.
Main Results:
- Sleep states (wakefulness, NREM, REM) are not always mutually exclusive, allowing for mixed presentations.
- Local sleep phenomena can explain various clinical conditions like sleepwalking, narcolepsy, and REM sleep behavior disorder.
- Abnormalities in neural "spatial and temporal binding rhythm" may underlie fluctuations in consciousness and contribute to disorders like autism and schizophrenia.
Conclusions:
- Understanding local sleep is crucial for explaining complex neurological and psychiatric conditions.
- Dissociated states of sleep and wakefulness are intimately linked to the boundaries of consciousness.
- Further research involving neuroscientists, clinicians, and legal professionals is needed for scientific, clinical, therapeutic, and forensic insights.
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