Patterns of dreaming recall: An EEG study.

11 recallers and 11 nonrecallers of dreams were compared with respect to several characteristics of their rapid eye movement (REM) periods during sleep. Continuous recordings of REMs and EEGs were obtained for 2 consecutive nights of uninterrupted sleep for each S. The records were scored to yield measures of total dream time (TDT) and rate of eye movements during REM periods. Recallers had significantly higher TDT than nonrecallers. However, contrary to prediction, nonrecallers had a significantly higher rate of REMs during dreaming than recallers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A comparison of "dreamers" and "nondreamers": Eye movements, electroencephalograms, and the recall of dreams.

Research had established that rapid eye movement during sleep was correlated with dreaming, and both to light sleep as defined by EEG reactivity. In an attempt to cross validate these findings, Ss were selected as to whether they generally recalled dreaming. Ss slept in a laboratory setting wherein electro-oculograms and EEG's were taken during the period of sleep. Ss were awakened when the characteristic eye movement suggesting dreaming was observed, and during periods of quiescence. Recall of dream activity during both was solicited. Results suggest that "dreamers" manifest more ocular movement and reports of dreaming during periods of eye movement than "nondreamers." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dream reports from different stages of sleep.

8 Ss (paid volunteer males, ages 17-27) were placed in the information-gathering sleep situation for 57 (nonconsecutive) nights. Ss were awakened during various stages of sleep (determined by EEG and eye movement activity), and the content of their dream or thoughts at the time of the awakening explored. Mental activity (dreaming, thinking) was reported at all levels of sleep. Reports during periods of rapid eye movement (REM) revealed more statements involving affective, visual, and muscular content with less correspondence to residue of S's waking life, than in non-REM periods. Results are related to Freudian theory of dreams. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Absence of tonic electromyographic activity during sleep in normal and spastic nonmimetic skeletal muscles in man

An electromyographic study of nonmimetic skeletal muscles was carried out in 8 normal adults and 4 patients with spastic hemiparesis during all stages of sleep for a total of 21 nights. All normal subjects showed absence of tonic electromyographic activity in all nonmimetic skeletal muscles in all stages of sleep. Also, during quiet, relaxed wakefulness, tonic muscle discharges disappeared in the normal subjects. Three patients with upper motor neuron spasticity demonstrated results during sleep similar to those obtained in the normal subjects. In the fourth patient, tonic muscle discharges persisted into stage 2 non-REM sleep, disappeared within 30 to 240 seconds following the onset of stage 2 sleep, and were absent during stages 3 and 4 sleep and REM sleep.     

Sleep spindles and learning potential.

The number of sleep spindles remains relatively stable within individuals from night to night. However, there is little explanation for the large interindividual differences in spindles. The authors investigated the relationship between spindles and intelligence quotient (IQ) in 3 separate studies. The number of spindles and sigma power were positively correlated with performance IQ (PIQ), but not verbal IQ (VIQ). The perceptual/analytical skills measured by the PIQ Picture Completion subscale accounted for most of the interindividual differences in spindles. Furthermore, there was a relationship between the rapid eye movements (REMs) of REM sleep and VIQ in individuals with higher IQ scores. A similar pattern was observed between spindles and PIQ. It was hypothesized that high-IQ individuals have more spindles that can support more complex cortical networks underlying perceptual/analytical abilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual differences in mental activity at sleep onset.

Reports of sleep-onset and nocturnal (EEG Stage 1, REM period) mentation, CPIs, and thematic fantasy responses were collected from 32 young-adult Ss. In confirmation of recent findings by Foulkes and Vogel, dreamlike mental activity was found to occur with fairly substantial frequency at sleep onset, albeit with wide individual differences. Patterning of personality correlates with hypnagogic and nocturnal dream recall suggests that the former varies directly with waking ego strength and adaptive flexibility, while the latter varies directly with indications of waking maladaptive symptomatology. A psychodynamic interpretation of these results is offered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The two-factor structure of sleep complaints and its relation to depression and anxiety.

Although sleep complaints are common in depression and anxiety, there is little agreement as to how they should be organized and assessed. It is also unclear whether sleep complaints show specificity with certain disorders or whether they are nonspecific symptoms. The authors examined the structure of sleep complaints and the relations of these complaints to depression and anxiety in 3 samples: college students, older adults, and psychiatric patients. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses indicated that sleep complaints consistently defined 2 distinct dimensions: Insomnia and Lassitude. The Insomnia factor included indicators of early, middle, and late insomnia, as well as poor sleep quality. The Lassitude factor included measures of hypersomnia, fatigue, and sleepiness. Both factors were significantly related to symptoms and diagnoses of depression and anxiety. However, Lassitude was more strongly related to symptoms of depression and anxiety than was Insomnia. In addition, Lassitude showed specificity to measures and diagnoses of depression compared with anxiety disorders. This specificity can be explained by Lassitude's relation with negative and positive emotionality, both of which are components of depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of the deaf in language studies: A reply to Furth.

Furth, in a recent review (see: 39: 3964), concludes that studies of the deaf indicate that intellectual development proceeds independently of the acquisition of language. In this paper several issues were seen as limiting the premature acceptance of this conclusion. Among these were: (a) the deaf, through special training from 3 yr of age, often possess a verbal system; (b) the conclusion in the review can never be disproven, since any deficient performance by the deaf can almost always be attributed to numerous environmental factors rather than a language handicap; and (c) many tasks were arbitrarily assumed to require symbolic activity without recognizing that this assumption is still open to investigation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Visual memory for shapes in deaf signers and nonsigners and in hearing signers and nonsigners: Atypical lateralization and enhancement.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 21(3) of Neuropsychology (see record 2007-06185-013). Figure 1 on p. 117 (Stimulus Materials section) depicting sample and match stimuli was incorrect. The labels Object condition and Shape condition should be reversed so that the top row is indicated as the shape condition and the bottom row as the object condition.] Deaf and hearing individuals who either used sign language (signers) or not (nonsigners) were tested on visual memory for objects and shapes that were difficult to describe verbally with a same/different matching paradigm. The use of 4 groups was designed to permit a separation of effects related to sign language use (signers vs. nonsigners) and effects related to auditory deprivation (deaf vs. hearing). Forty deaf native signers and nonsigners and 51 hearing signers and nonsigners participated in the study. Signing individuals (both deaf and hearing) were more accurate than nonsigning individuals (deaf and hearing) at memorizing shapes. For the shape memory task but not the object task, deaf signers and nonsigners displayed right hemisphere (RH) advantage over the left hemisphere (LH). Conversely, both hearing groups displayed a memory advantage for shapes in the LH over the RH. Results indicate that enhanced memory performance for shapes in signers (deaf and hearing) stems from the visual skills acquired through sign language use and that deafness, irrespective of language background, leads to the use of a visually based strategy for memory of difficult-to-describe items. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Body composition in normal subjects: relation to lipid and glucose variables

OBJECTIVE: To describe sex- and age-dependent values of total and regional body composition as determined by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in normal subjects, and furthermore to relate body composition measurements to blood lipids, glucose and insulin concentrations. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. SUBJECTS: 173 (84 male and 89 female) healthy subjects, BMI < 30 kg/m2. MEASUREMENTS: Body composition parameters including data on total bone mineral content (TBMC), total bone mineral density (TBMD), lean body soft tissue mass (LTM), total and regional fat mass (FM) were estimated in all subjects. In 87 of the subjects fasting blood glucose, S-insulin and lipid profile were measured. RESULTS: The study population was for each sex divided into five decades for which results on body composition and blood lipids are presented. Body weight increased 2 kg per age decade, representing a significant increase in both total FM and relative FM (FM%BW) with age, and in males a central accumulation of FM. LTM decreased significantly in males but not in females, whereas TBMC and TBMD remained constant in males, but decreased in females. A significant correlation between relative FM and S-cholesterol, S-triglyceride, and in males S-insulin was found. CONCLUSION: The present study gives coherent data on bone mineral content, lean body soft tissue mass total and regional fat mass for 173 healthy subjects with a BMI below 30 kg/m2. Total body fat mass increases, and lean mass decreases with age. In males a simultaneous central accumulation of fat mass is observed. The well-known relationship between central obesity and lipids is confirmed even in non-obese subjects.     

The effect of mood on sleep onset latency and REM sleep in interepisode bipolar disorder.

The present study investigates whether interepisode mood regulation impairment contributes to disturbances in sleep onset latency (SOL) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Individuals with interepisode bipolar disorder (n = 28) and healthy controls (n = 28) slept in the laboratory for 2 baseline nights, a happy mood induction night, and a sad mood induction night. There was a significant interaction whereby on the happy mood induction night the bipolar group exhibited significantly longer SOL than did the control group, while there was no difference on the baseline nights. In addition, control participants exhibited shorter SOL on the happy mood induction night compared to the baseline nights, a finding that was not observed in the bipolar group. On the sad mood induction night, participants in both groups had shorter SOL and increased REM density when compared to the baseline nights. Bipolar participants exhibited heightened REM density compared to control participants on both nights. These results raise the possibility that regulation of positive stimuli may be a contributor to difficulties with SOL, while hyperactivity may be characteristic of REM sleep. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Moderators and mediators of exercise-induced objective sleep improvements in midlife and older adults with sleep complaints.

Objective: Exercise can improve sleep quality, but for whom and by what means remains unclear. We examined moderators and mediators of objective sleep improvements in a 12-month randomized controlled trial among underactive midlife and older adults reporting mild/moderate sleep complaints. Methods: Participants (N = 66, 67% women, 55–79 years) were randomized to moderate-intensity exercise or health education control. Putative moderators were gender, age, physical function, self-reported global sleep quality, and physical activity levels. Putative mediators were changes in BMI, depressive symptoms, and physical function at 6 months. Objective sleep outcomes measured by in-home polysomnography were percent time in Stage I sleep, percent time in Stage II sleep, and number of awakenings during the first third of sleep at 12 months. Results: Baseline physical function and sleep quality moderated changes in Stage I sleep; individuals with higher initial physical function (p = .01) and poorer sleep quality (p = .03) had greater improvements. Baseline physical activity level moderated changes in Stage II sleep (p = .04) and number of awakenings (p = .01); more sedentary individuals had greater improvements. Decreased depressive symptoms (CI:-1.57 to ?0.02) mediated change in Stage I sleep. Decreased depressive symptoms (CI:-0.75 to ?0.01), decreased BMI (CI:-1.08 to ?0.06), and increased physical function (CI: 0.01 to 0.72) mediated change in number of awakenings. Conclusions: Initially less active individuals with higher initial physical function and poorer sleep quality improved the most. Affective, functional, and metabolic mediators specific to sleep architecture parameters were suggested. These results indicate strategies to more efficiently treat poor sleep through exercise in older adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Considering sleep in a family context: Introduction to the special issue.

The special issue addresses the importance of sleep considered within a family context in relation to a broad range of behavioral, emotional, and physical health issues. The collection of articles provides several excellent examples of studies that emphasize a family context for understanding various aspects of sleep in infants, children, adolescents, and adults. Taken together, these studies raise a set of compelling questions for future research in this area. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Eye movement control during reading: Effects of word frequency and orthographic familiarity.

Word frequency and orthographic familiarity were independently manipulated as readers' eye movements were recorded. Word frequency influenced fixation durations and the probability of word skipping when orthographic familiarity was controlled. These results indicate that lexical processing of words can influence saccade programming (as shown by fixation durations and which words are fixated). Orthographic familiarity, but not word frequency, influenced the duration of prior fixations. These results provide evidence for orthographic, but not lexical, parafoveal-on-foveal effects. Overall, the findings have a crucial implication for models of eye movement control in reading: There must be sufficient time for lexical factors to influence saccade programming before saccade metrics and timing are finalized. The conclusions are critical for the fundamental architecture of models of eye movement control in reading- namely, how to reconcile long saccade programming times and complex linguistic influences on saccades during reading. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Visual activity in Hollywood film: 1935 to 2005 and beyond.

The structure of Hollywood film has changed in many ways over the last 75 years, and much of that change has served to increase the engagement of viewers' perceptual and cognitive processes. We report a new physical measure for cinema—the visual activity index (VAI)—that reflects one of these changes. This index captures the amount of motion and movement in film. We define whole-film VAI as (1 – median r), reflecting the median correlation of pixels in pairs of near-adjacent frames measured along the entire length of a film or film sequence. Analyses of 150 films show an increase in VAI from 1935 to 2005, with action and adventure films leading the way and with dramas showing little increase. Using these data and those from three more recent high-intensity films, we explore a possible perceptual and cognitive constraint on popular film: VAI as a function of the log of sequence or film duration. We find that many “queasicam” sequences, those shot with an unsteady camera, often exceed our proposed constraint. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Companionable sleep: Social regulation of sleep and cosleeping in egyptian families.

This exploratory study examined family sleep patterns and quality in a setting of normative napping and cosleeping. Participants were 78 members of 16 families from 2 locales in Egypt (Cairo and a village). Each family member provided a history of sleeping arrangements, 1 week of continuous activity records, and details of each sleep event. Sleep records documented late-onset and dispersed sleep patterns with extensive cosleeping. Of recorded sleep events, 69% involved cosleeping, 24% included more than 1 cosleeper, and only 21% were solitary. Mid-late afternoon napping occurred on 31% of days, and night sleep onsets averaged after midnight. Age and gender structured sleep arrangements and, together with locale, extensively explained sleep behavior (onset, duration, total) and quality. Cosleepers had fewer night arousals, shorter and less variable night sleep duration, and less total sleep. Increased solitary sleep in adolescents and young adults was associated with increased sleep dysregulation, including exaggerated phase shifts in males and more nighttime arousals in females. Where normative, cosleeping may provide psychosensory stimuli that moderate arousal and stabilize sleep. Such moderating features may address important self-regulatory developmental needs during adolescence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Leisure-time physical activity and marital status in relation to depression between men and women: A prospective study.

Background: Previous studies have identified the preventive effect of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) on depression. Women and men have different emotional vulnerabilities. The impact of LTPA on depression varies by gender. Little is known about the impact of LTPA on depression for people with different marital status. Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the long-term effects of LTPA, changes in LTPA, and marital status on the risk of developing depression for general Canadians. Methods: Data from the biennial National Population Health Survey (NPHS) cycles conducted between 1994/95 and 2004/05 were analyzed in 2008. After excluding individuals with preexisting depression at baseline, respondents were classified as physically active or inactive and then followed up in subsequent cycles of the NPHS to look at risk of developing depression. Individuals who changed their activity level were also examined. Subgroup analyses by different marital status were performed to identify high-risk populations. Results: In 1994/1995, 17,276 participants were included in the NPHS longitudinal panel. Respondents who were inactive were more likely to be older, female, obese, widowed/separated/divorced, not working, low income, and lacking social support. After controlling for potential confounding factors, it was found that LTPA reduced the risk of developing depression for women. The modest risk reduction observed for men was not statistically significant. Women who were active at baseline and two years of follow-up were significantly less likely to report depression at four years of follow-up compared to women who were inactive at baseline and at two years of follow-up. A 51% greater probability of developing depression was observed after two years for women who changed their LTPA from active to inactive compared to women who remained active. No significant results were found for men. Divorced/separated/widowed women who stopped LTPA had 4.2 times the risk of developing depression after two years compared to those who remained active. The risk of developing depression after stopping activity did not vary according to marital status among men. Conclusions: LTPA has preventive effects on depression for women. Reduction in LTPA level is associated with subsequent depression for women. Divorced/separated/widowed women are at particularly high risk of developing depression if LTPA is stopped. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

To look or not to look: An eye movement study of hypervigilance during change detection in high and low spider fearful students.

Previous eye movement studies of attentional bias in spider fear reported inconsistent results with respect to early attentional capture, suggesting that overt attentional capture only reliably occurs under specific circumstances. In addition, none of these studies explored covert attention. The present study examined attentional bias in spider phobia using a change detection paradigm that was expected to provide good conditions for documenting attentional capture. In contrast to our expectations, eye movement data showed that all participants' first fixations were fastest on general negative targets, whereas participants' first fixations on spider targets were slower in the spider fearful than in the nonfearful group. In addition, spider fearful participants made more nontarget fixations before fixating on a spider target than did nonfearful participants. Thus, we found that participants' overt attention was more quickly focused on general negative targets, whereas covert attentional processes enabled initial avoidance of fear-relevant (i.e. spider) stimuli. The present findings have important implications for research on attention and fear as they indicate that fearful individuals are not characterized by static attentional orienting toward threat but, under certain conditions, may avert attention from threat automatically. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The context of preschool children's sleep: Racial/ethnic differences in sleep locations, routines, and concerns.

Cross-national research suggests cultural factors affect how parents manage and perceive their children's sleep. In the United States, however, it is unclear whether documented racial/ethnic differences in these aspects of children's sleep reflect culturally distinct parental values and practices or confounding sociodemographic factors. This study uses data from the Fragile Families and Child Well Being Study to examine potential racial/ethnic differences in how parents manage and perceive the sleep of their preschool children (n = 3,068), while controlling for potential sociodemographic (e.g., family structure), environmental (e.g., number of available bedrooms), and pragmatic (e.g., parental shift work) confounds. Results suggest racial/ethnic differences exist in where children sleep, how they are put to bed, and the level of concern mothers have about their child's sleep, beyond the effect of confounding factors. These differences may reflect distinct cultural values, as well as diverse goals for family and parent-child relationships. As our country becomes increasingly heterogeneous, it is important for developmental researchers and pediatric providers to understand the various ways diversity may be reflected in family life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reaction time in schizophrenic and normal subjects in relation to the sequence of series of regular preparatory intervals.

Earlier research (Huston et al, 1937) emphasized the inability of schizophrenic Ss, in comparison to normals, to maintain a given set over an extended period of time; this, again, was the focus of the present investigation. Reaction times in 7 schizophrenic and 11 nonschizophrenic Ss were reviewed in the context of situations which required varying amounts of preresponse times. The results confirm the unfavorable effect on the performance of schizophrenic Ss in situations requiring prolonged maintenance of a response set. Results are related to a psychophysical interpretation of schizophrenia. From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4JQ61Z. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)