1 / 34

Lucid Dreams

Lucid Dreams. Group 10 : Chi-Hang Lau, Anita Leung, Clarisse Miguel, Elisa Tsan, Alistair Wong COGS 175 Dr. Pineda March 3, 2008. Presentation Outline. Introduction : What are Lucid Dreams? (Clarisse) Characteristics (Anita) Experimental Evidence and Techniques (Elisa, Clarisse)

olga-gilliam
Download Presentation

Lucid Dreams

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Lucid Dreams Group 10 : Chi-Hang Lau, Anita Leung, Clarisse Miguel, Elisa Tsan, Alistair Wong COGS 175 Dr. Pineda March 3, 2008

  2. Presentation Outline • Introduction : What are Lucid Dreams? (Clarisse) • Characteristics (Anita) • Experimental Evidence and Techniques (Elisa, Clarisse) • Induction of Lucid Dreams (Alistair) • Applications (Alistair, Chi-Hang) • Conclusion/Discussion (Together)

  3. What is a Lucid Dream? • The “Conscious” Dream • Knowing you are dreaming, when you are dreaming. • An Alternate State of Consciousness? • Becoming conscious during sleep

  4. A Brief History • Aristotle’s On Dreams • St. Augustine, A.D. 415 • Tibetan Buddhists(8th Century) • ‘Dream’ Yoga - reaching the ‘light’ • The Marquis d’Hervey de Saint-Denys • wrote Dreams and the Means to Direct Them (1867) • Frederik Willems van Eeden • coined ‘lucid dream’ (1913)

  5. Characteristics of Lucid Dreams • Full awareness of dream state (consciously and perceptually) • Ability to make free decisions in the dream • Memory functions as if in waking life • i.e. Full memory of all lucid dream experiences in waking state as well as during lucid dream state • Awareness of the meaning of symbols

  6. Important Brain Areas Involved in Lucid Dreaming • Dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex • Dietrich • While non-lucid dreaming, PET studies show a large deactivation of areas in DL • Contrary, in lucid dreaming, there is DL activation(Hobson 2001) • Inferior parietal lobe • LaBerge • Showed increases in inferior parietal lobe activity in lucid dreaming, an area known to involve consciousness

  7. Stages of Sleep • NREM (non-rapid eye movement) • Stage 1: theta waves • Stage 2: sleep spindles and k complexes • Stage 3: delta waves (<50% total wave patterns) • Stage 4: delta waves (>50% total wave patterns) • REM (rapid eye movement) • Tonic: persistent sleep events (striated and desynchronized muscle inhibition) • Phasic: intermittent sleep events (rapid eye movements, muscle twitches)

  8. Polysomnographic recordings • EEG : electrical activity from brain via electrodes on scalp • EOG (electrooculogram) :resting potential of retina • EMG (electromyogram) :muscular activity • FP (finger plethysmograph):blood flow

  9. Spectral Analysis • delta (1-4 Hz) • theta (5-7 Hz) • alpha (8-12 Hz) • beta-1 (13-19 Hz) • beta-2 (20-29 Hz)

  10. Physiological Differences (Holzinger et al. 2006) • epochs of lucid dreaming associated with more beta-1 activity than non-lucid dreaming • Beta-1 activity ratios • Frontal : parietal • Non-lucid = 1.00 : 1.16 • Lucid = 1.00 : 1.77 • Hemispheric differences • highest increase in left parietal lobe (an area associated with semantic capacity)

  11. Experimental Inducement • Experimental Training • M.I.L.D. Technique(LaBerge, 1981) • “Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams” • Increases occurrence of lucid dreams • Mental and verbal rehearsals upon waking and before sleeping • Incorporate into Long-Term Memory “I will have a lucid dream tonight”

  12. Recognizing a Lucid Dream • How do we know ?

  13. Recognizing a Lucid Dream • How do we know ? • REM Sleep • Phasic activity(LaBerge et al. 1986)

  14. Recognizing a Lucid Dream • How do we know ? • REM Sleep • Phasic activity (LaBerge et al. 1986) • Physiological Signals

  15. Recognizing a Lucid Dream • How do we know ? • REM Sleep • Phasic activity (LaBerge et al. 1986) • Physiological Signals • Eye Movement (LeftRight L R) • lucid dream occurring

  16. Recognizing a Lucid Dream • How do we know ? • REM Sleep • Phasic activity (LaBerge et al. 1986) • Physiological Signals • Eye Movement (LeftRight L R) • lucid dream occurring • Hand Clenching (Left and Right) (Erlacher et al. 2003)

  17. Recognizing a Lucid Dream • How do we know ? • REM Sleep • Phasic activity (LaBerge et al. 1986) • Physiological Signals • Eye Movement (LeftRight L R) • lucid dream occurring • Hand Clenching (Left and Right) (Erlacher et al. 2003) • More accurate experimental methods • Match physiological signal to dream occurrence

  18. Induction Techniques

  19. Induction Techniques • Dream Journal • Write down your dreams

  20. Induction Techniques • Dream Journal • Write down your dreams • Reality Checks • Consciously ask if you are in a dream

  21. Induction Techniques • Dream Journal • Write down your dreams • Reality Checks • Consciously ask if you are in a dream • Meditation • Focus and intend on lucid dreaming

  22. Applications of Lucid Dreaming • Explore subconscious mind • Overcome mental obstacles • Alleviating fears

  23. Lucid Dream Treatment Pilot Study • Conducted by Spoormaker and van den Bout in 2006 • Hypothesis: Can exercises in Lucid dreaming be used to overcome sufferers of chronic nightmares?

  24. Lucid Dream Treatment Pilot Study: Subjects • 23 volunteers • Excluded people suffering from hypnagogic hallucinations and/or night terrors • Excluded subjects currently on medication • All reported to suffer from Chronic Nightmares for over a year • Nightmare defined as a frightening dream to directly caused a return to full consciousness (awakening).

  25. Lucid Dreaming Treatment Pilot Study: Method • Subjects were given the Sleep-50 to evaluate sleep • Subjects divided into three groups, each given a different degree of LDT. <Group1>: Each subject given a one on one LDT seminar <Group2>: Subjects given group LDT seminar <Group3>: No LDT seminar was given

  26. Lucid Dream Treatment Pilot Study: Method (cont.) • Subjects were reevaluated 12 weeks later with the Sleep-50

  27. Lucid Dreaming Treatment Pilot Study: LDT seminar • 2 hour seminar • Subjects educated about Lucid Dreaming and triggering methods • Given imaging exercises the nightmare, while reaffirming them as a dream. • Instructed Subjects to try to induce nightmares before sleep to occur during sleep.

  28. Lucid Dreaming Treatment Pilot Study: Results

  29. Lucid Dreaming Treatment Pilot Study: Results (cont.)

  30. Lucid Dreaming Treatment Pilot Study: Discussion • Study had many limitations: - small sample size - limited time frame - LDT seminar limited - Sleep-50 fail to report more detailed information on subjects. - Only 6 subjects successfully reported full Lucid Dreaming

  31. Lucid Dreaming Treatment Pilot Study: Discussion (cont.) • Study Headway - Statistically significant results. - LDT did target nightmare specifically, not quality of sleep - As a pilot study, leaves much room for further study.

  32. Discussion ! • Questions ?

  33. References • Dietrich, Arne. Functional neuroanatomy of altered states of consciousness: The transient hypofrontality hypothesis. Consciousness and Cognition 12, 2003. pp. 231–256. • Erlacher, Daniel D., Michael Shredl, Stephen LaBerge. Motor area activation during dreamed hand clenching: A pilot study on EEG alpha band. Sleep and Hypnosis. Volume 5(4). 2003. pp. 182-187. • Fisher, Leslie E., Benjamin Wallace. Consciousness and Behavior. Waveland Press, IL, 2003. • Gackenbach, Jayne, Stephen LaBerge. Conscious Mind, Sleeping Brain: Perspectives on Lucid Dreaming. Plenum Press, New York, 1988. • Holzinger, Brigitte, LaBerge, Stephen, Levitan, Lynne. Psychophysiological Correlates of Lucid Dreaming. Dreaming. Vol 16(2), Jun 2006, pp. 88-95. • LaBerge, Stephen S., Lucid dreaming: Physiological correlates of consciousness during REM sleep. The Journal of mind and behavior. Vol. 7(2-3), 1986. pp. 251-258.

  34. References (Cont.) • LaBerge Stephen S. Lucid dreaming verified by volitional communication during REM sleep. Vol 52(3), 1981. pp. 727-732. • Spoormaker, Victor I., Jan van den Bout, and Eli J. G. Meijer. Lucid Dreaming Treatment for Nightmares: A Series of Cases. Dreaming, Vol. 13, No. 3, September 2003. pp. 181-186. 9. Wantanabe, Tsuneo. Lucid Dreaming: It’s Experimental Proof and Psychological Conditions. J. Intl. Soc. LifeInfo. Sci. Vol. 21, No.1, March 2003. pp. 159-165. 10. Spoormaker, Victor I., Jan van den Bout. Lucid Dreaming Treatment for Nightmares: A Pilot Study. Psychother Psychosom 75, 2006. pp. 389–394. • The Lucidity Institute. http://www.lucidty.com. (accessed February 2008). 12. Dr. Susan Blackmore. “Lucid Dreaming: Awake in Your Sleep?” http://www.susanblackmore.co.uk/Articles/si91ld.html (accessed February 2008).

More Related