Waking state, sleep, dream and hypnosis.

Waking state. Most time in course of 24 hours human being is under waking state, but attention to surrounding events is cyclically changed at this. Attention fluctuations cycle is 90-100 minutes (it is not occasionally due to this one make breaks in activity for example between practical classes or lectures). Brain structures responsible for waking state support:

· Varolii pons internal region.

· Stem internal region.

· Midbrain internal region - reticular formation.

For example, there are noradrenaline-containing neurons in pons blue spot, serotonin-containing neurons in suture dorsal nucleus. Both cells are maximally active in course of waking state. The same neurons are active in periods of increased answer (reacting) to surrounding situation. Thus, in course of increased attention (pricking up one’s ears, head turn towards attention object). Serotonin insufficiency in blood leads to continuous waking state, serotonin increasing – to falling asleep; noradrenaline content increasing – to waking up. At blue spot injury neurons of which produce noradrenaline animals sleep rather longer in comparison with norma.

Sleep – is organism specific state which is characterized by almost complete absence of reactions to new stimuli and immobility. Why do we sleep? The answer to this question is not so simple. People always try to answer this question but it was not any clear answer till the 20-th century. There were large amount of different theories (mainly delt with dreams problem). The beginning of last century was characterized by occurence of 3 simultaneous approaches to this problem.

1. Sleep is the result of hypnotoxines accumulation in blood (Legandr and P’eron – hypnotoxines theory).

2. Theory of sleep center (Gess, Economo) – some thalamic and hypothalamic neurons excitement causes sleep.

3. Theory of I.P.Pavlov about dispersed cortical inhibition.

The latest point of view is not proved for now. Additionally to mentioned biologically active substances multiple peptides were extracted influencing on sleep. Peptide of sleep – factor “C”, Uchizano factor, Nagasaki factor and others are among them. They are secreted in thalamus and hypothalamus.

There are 2 kinds of sleep. One can differentiate fast (paradoxal) sleep period in course of sleep. This name is originated from the following: brain is under active state, vegetative indexes are changed. They aquire the state similar to waking state. Blood pressure is increased, heart rhythm and breathing is freaquened. This is the phase of deeper sleep when all body muscles with exception of ocular are relaxed. Human being as a rule see dreams under this phase. According to other point of view, you dream in both deep sleep and REM sleep, but in REM sleep you dream in pictures. If you wake up in REM sleep you can usually remember your dream. That’s why fast sleep with rapid eye movements are considered to be dreams period. This is also called rapid eye movement sleep (or REM sleep). Decision of informational problems – tasks, ideas come, comparison and summarizing, short-termed memory can transforms into long-termed (consolidation) are performed in REM sleep. It is known for sure that learning of necessary material before sleep helps to remember it better.

REM sleep is expressed distinctly in new-borns. Its duration in them is bigger, it lasts about 50 per cents of all time (10 hours). In adults there are 4-6 phases of paradoxal sleep in course of 1 night with duration about 20 min; it is about 1,5 hours from all sleep duration. This sleep predominance in new-borns encourages nervous elements maturation and nervous connections formation.

The rest of time - is orthodoxal or slow sleep. When you go to sleep you go into this slow sleep. More energetic tasks are solved during this period (fatigue liquidation). That’s why when we wake up in this phase we feel ourselves in a good relaxation. Our temperature falls, our body relaxes and we breathe slowly.

Our natural sleep is characterized by cyclic changing of slow and REM-sleep. Full cycle consisting of slow sleep change into rapid with the further recurrence to slow sleep is 60-90 minutes in human being.

Why we sleep in the night?

· According daily biorhythm.

· According conditioned reflex – definite procedure of going to bed: all sounds and light switching off, relaxation in our bed.

Norma for sleeping is rather complicated to be determine. The most common point of view to this – human being must sleep from 2 to 9 hours. Moreover, one should take into account that people who sleep less are more adaptive to life, can ignore different psychologic problems better. People who have long-termed sleep are always under social and psychological problems. It’s important to strive to go to bed and to wake up regularly, in one time every day.

Sleep duration:

· new-borns – 20-21 hours per day;

· 1-3 months – 16-19 hours;

· 1 year – 14 hours (3 times a day with the most significant duration in the night);

· early children have bicyclic sleep;

· schoolchidren and adults – monocyclic;

· teenagers – 8-9 hours;

· adults – 7-8 hours.

People can sleepwalk in deep sleep and sleepwalkers do amazing things. They open doors and windows, they ride bicycles and drive cars. They cook, they take a bath or a shower (often in their pijamas), they shave, they clean their teeth, they get dressed, they dig the garden and they get into the beds of other people. Example. A man from Scotland woke up in his car 2 miles from his house. He had no clothes on. A girl from Wales woke up at 5 o’clock in the morning in a launderette. She had a shopping bag and the dog with her. Sleepwalkers are asleep, but they have their eyes opened and they can see. They can’t wake up easily. If they do, they can’t remember anything.

Dreams, levitation or sleepwalking, meditation, narcosis, clinical death and some other states are considered so-called unusual mind states. All processes occuring in course of our sleep are unconscious, in course of waking state – counscious. All people see their dreams. They can occur 4-6 times per night. If we are waking up in course of slow sleep, we’ll tell about our dreams in 70-90% of cases; in REM-sleep – only in 7-10% of cases. Why can we see dreams?

Dreams main theories:

· dreams – the signs of diseases; healthy sleep must be without any dreams;

· dreams – is a special soul state;

· brain psychical activity is continuous during sleep;

· sleep – is a psychical activity decreasing or even stoppage;

· under sleep state human being can see something he has never done, known, felt;

· Z.Phreud: dreams are realizing of our clerished desires;

· I.M.Sechenov: dreams – are unusual combination of usual impressions.

Modern data- 3 factors in dreams occurence:

1. External sygnals.

2. Internal sygnals.

3. Steps of daily impressions.

Dreams peculiarities:

· they are short-termed (events are pressed in them like in movie);

· weak sygnals are enforced in course of sleep;

· many people don’t remember their dreams or forget them rapidly;

· dreams can be prognostic, prophetic, creative (of art).

 

Hypnosis is well-known for long. Its mechanism is still out of clearance. It is dream variation but it is not a dream. It differs from usual dream by tight connection with hypnotizer. Besides, there is special muscular state in course of hypnosis and ability to suggestion. One must use following techniques in course of hypnotic dream reproduction:

· monotonous stimuli influencing (eyesight fixation, monotonous speech, rhythmic passes or movements);

· muscular relaxation (it prepares CNS to the rest, to transition from waking state to sleep, passive rest);

· ability to suggestion (it appears better under CNS weakening states – diseases, grief, fear, fatigue et al.).

Hypnotic dream stages:

· letargic – sleepiness, relaxation for example in course of listening to the music, service into the church;

· cataleptic – muscular relaxation, one can’t raise his arm, body wax flexibility;

· somnambulic – renouncing from external stimuli, complete amnesia about listened and experienced events.

Hypnotic states are sleep-like with speech connection preservation. Human hypnability depends on age, sex, health, fatigue, intellect. Children up to 10 years practically don’t possess any hypnability. Approximately up to 6 per cents of the adult don’t have such ability too. There are such statistic data: 29 per cent of people have weak ability to suggestion; 49% - good; 15 per cent are easily suggested.

Lecture 11.