A Proposed Study of Hypnagogia by Dan McKinnon

1. A Proposed Study of Hypnagogia by Dan McKinnon Do you remember your last Hypnagogic Experience?

2. Hypnagogia & Memory • Some Preliminary Observations with an Experimental Procedure for the study of Hypnagogic Imagery and State Dependent Memory

3. What is Hypnagogia? • The unique state of consciousness between wakefulness and sleep. • A semi-sleep or near-sleep state • Images arise in one or more of our five sensory modalities

4. ...spontaneous, vivid, fleeting and often significant …flashing lights, colors, pin wheels, faces, shadow shapes, landscapes, even dreamlets …sometimes in the form of (LEBs) auto-symbolic material …sometimes almost psychedelic, …creative insights and solutions Hypnagogic Images are...

5. How common is Hypnagogia? Virtually everyone experiences it, but often there’s a fear it may be a personal pathology or abnormality

6. Probably the most famous example comes from Kekule’s discovery of the benzene molecule while dozing in front of a fire…. Edgar Allan Poe spoke of his hypnagogia experiences as… The literature is filled with examples of hypnagogia. How about a couple of examples...

7. Is there an empirical basis for hypnagoia? • Yes, brain wave activity correlates with hypnagogic experiences. • EEG Biofeedback: 4 frequency bands of brain wave activity identified:

8. Brain waves and you • Beta 12+ Hz, normally Cs zone • Alpha 8-12 Hz, the meditative zone • Theta 4-7 Hz, the hypnagogic zone • Delta < 4Hz, Ucs zone, asleep

9. Many researchers have linked the theta state & hypnagogia.

10. EEG Biofeedback: Confirming the Connection • Where there is a theta brain wave state hypnagogic images can and do arise. • One only has to manage their arousal gradient between wakefulness & sleep. • “walking” to sleep vs. “falling” to sleep.

11. The experiment: Hypnagogia & State-dependent memory. The question: Is a person’s recall for hypnagogic images better when they are in the theta state?

12. 12 grad.psych. students volunteers One day seminar - two parts: Morning (3 hr) - lecture & disc. on Hypnagogia & biofeedback Afternoon (5 hr) - 4 EEG training periods practiced observing & coding H.I.s arising in theta state 60 days later recall test mirrored this afternoon session The Participants

13. The Participants • Treated in accordance with CPA Code of Ethics/Guidelines • Fully informed of rights & choices • Signed informed consent agreement • No one was paid for participation in the seminar or study.

14. Complete a demogr. info sheet and disc. familiarity with: EEG, H.I., & ASCs EEG devices were Discovery Eng. 2000 EEG recorded at occipital & parietal lobes 900 Hz feedback tone for Alpha, 400 Hz feedback tone for Theta, no tones selected for Beta and Delta Why? Participant heard tones via ear phones Stimuli and Apparatus

15. Stimuli and Apparatus • Sony SVA300 voice-activated recorder to document H.I.s at EEG training and testing • Recall performance measured by: • 3 independent raters analyzed the recordings of H.Is for… • …key semantic content phrases & key word descriptors

16. Stimuli and Apparatus • Raters compared and batched “keys” and set a 10 pt. recall schema for each H.I. for each participant • Compared training “keys” with testing recall recordings for matching and assigned a recall performance % for each, 1/10 = 10%, 7/10 = 70%

17. Procedure • 5 days prior to seminar, “paperwork” • Saturday seminar, 8:30 am - 6:00 pm • Incidental Learning Model, not told about subsequent testing session…felt practice could diminish initial state dependent learning effects

18. Procedure • First, the H.I. & EEG lecture (90min.) • Described “file-tabbing” for encoding specificity, depth of processing and as reference label during recall test. • Demonstrated the afternoon’s EEG and H.I. Training protocol using a volunteer for a full session

19. Procedure Instructed all participants that in afternoon session each of them would complete 4 identical EEG and H.I. training sessions.

20. Procedure • After lunch, each participant assigned to fully equipped private training room • Coached on operating EEG and reminded of morning’s demo session • Achieved theta state, harvested H.I.s, file tabbed H. I.s and recorded same • To stay alert, 15 min. break between 45 min. training sessions (4).

21. Procedure • 30 min. windup period to ensure all participants were alert and debriefed • Offered one hour private debriefing • Informed about 45 day followup • No one required private debriefing

22. Procedure • 45 days later each participant had a private EEG & H. I. recall test session • Afternoon sessions…circadian rhythms • Randomly assigned to either the experimental group (6) - identical session to training or the control group - identical session to training with one exception...

23. Procedure • Introduction of an “attention placebo control condition” just before tested for recall of file tabbed H.I.s • Finger tapping to block theta activity • Why, no theta prevents the person from slipping into original state like the EG

24. Experimental Achieve Theta State Given randomly assigned file tab and asked to recall in detail for recording Tested on all H.I.s from training session CONTROL Achieve Theta State Finger tap for Attention Placebo Given randomly assigned file tab and asked to recall in detail for recordign Tested on all H.I.s from training session Procedure

25. Procedure • Both EG & CG recall responses recorded and submitted to the independent raters for comparison, coding and scoring using the ten point schema developed from the training session. • Thanks and will mail a copy of study once complete.

26. Hypnagogia & MemoryThe End • You tell me. Who will remember their hypnagogic images better - EG or CG? • SD theory says…EG, but?? • Suggestions, Questions, Enhancements • Remember. Try “walking” into sleep tonight, maybe you’ll meet your hypnagogic images on the way. • Thanks for listening.