Effects of somatosensory stimulation on dream content in gymnasts and control participants

Evidence of vestibulomotor adaptation in REM sleep

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4954977
AutoresAnny Sauvageau, Torben Nielsen (0000-0002-9372-8652), Tore A Nielsen, Jacques Montplaisir (0000-0002-5585-9811)
Año1998
Volumen8
Número2
Páginas125-134
Fecha de publicación1998-06-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaDreaming (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1053-0797 • E-ISSN: 1573-3351
EditorialAmerican Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1023/b:drem.0000005902.04938.fe
OpenAlexW2162652096
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas9
Referencias citadas1

Somatosensory stimulation of the leg muscles in REM sleep appears to perturb virtual orientation in dream experiences. According to our model of vestibulomotor adaptation (Sauvageau, Nielsen, & Montplaisir, 1996), the dreaming mind attempts to compensate for such destabilizing stimulation by increasing eye movement activity or by modifying dream content, among other possible reactions. Effective compensation may be more easily achieved by participants who are adapted to the disruptive stimulation or who possess highly developed vestibulomotor skills. To examine this possibility, we studied the effects of Somatosensory stimulation on the dreams of 6 gymnasts and 6 control participants aged 9 to 16 years. Results provide some support for the expectations that 1) imposed Somatosensory information is processed by the central nervous system in REM sleep, 2) unilateral stimulation induces an upset in virtual orientation, 3) gymnasts are more resistant to these disruptive effects of stimulation than are control participants, and 4) because of long-term adaptation, the dream content of gymnasts does not differ markedly from that of controls. Though preliminary and in need of replication, the findings are compatible with the notion that the developed vestibular skills of gymnasts protects them to some extent from the effects of a disruptive Somatosensory stimulus during sleep

Adaptation (eye · Audiology · Content (measure theory · Dream · Sleep (system call · Somatosensory system · Stimulation · Medicine · Neuroscience · Psychology · Sleep and related disorders · Sleep and Wakefulness Research · Visual perception and processing mechanisms