The Neurophysiology of Sleep and Dreams
The ancient Babylonians thought dreams were messages from supernatural beings, and that the good dreams came from gods and that bad dreams came from demons. (1) Since then people have sought many different explanations for the occurrence and importance of dreams. Before beginning to understand the function or significance of sleep and dreams, it is important to look at when, what, where, and how dreaming and sleeping occur.
Adult humans sleep, or should sleep, for about eight hours a day. People's necessary time spent sleeping changes over time. Newborns spend about twice as long sleeping. (2) Circadian rhythms, [the term originates from the Latin, "circa diem," which means about "about a day" (3)] determine when people fall asleep. The circadian rhythm, actually twenty-five hours long, is reset by light. (4) In 1953 scientists discovered REM (rapid-eye movement) sleep. The physiological state of REM occurs periodically with NREM (non-rapid-eye movement) about every ninety minutes (5), and lasts for about 20-30 minutes (6).
Differences between NREM and REM can be measured using an electroencephalogram (EEG), electrooptogram (EOG), and electromyelogram (EMG), which measure brainwaves, eye-movement, and muscle tone, respectively. REM is categorized by high-frequency, low-amplitude, more irregular waves in EEG, rapid, coordinated movement in EOG, and weak EMG. During this type of sleep, brain activation heightens, breathing and heart rates increase, and body movement is paralyzed. Because the person is highly aroused, like in waking, but also very asleep, REM sleep is also called paradoxical sleep (6).
Although dreams and REM are not synonymous, most dreaming occurs during ...
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Sources Cited:
1)The Association for the Study of Dreams
http://www.asdreams.org/
2)Harvard Undergraduate Society for Neuroscience
http://hcs.harvard.edu/~husn/BRAIN/vol1/sleep.html
3)Silent Partners Organization
http://www.silentpartners.org/sleep/sinfo/s101/physio1.htm
4)Talk About Sleep
http://www.talkaboutsleep.com/basics/Sleep_Understanding_NINDS.htm
5)The American Psychoanalytic Association
http://www.apsa.org/pubinfo/remqa.htm
6)California State University student essay
http://www.csun.edu/~vcpsy00h/students/sleep.htm
7)"Neurophysiology of dreams"
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro03/web1/www.wcu.edu/ceap/psychology/journal/pdf/barbee-c-5-00.pdf%20/
8)Slides on Physiology of Sleep and Dreaming
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro03/web1/www.fiu.edu/orgs/psych/psb_4003/lectures/Slides/Lecture10.PDF
"54° 40' or Fight." 54° 40' or Fight [ushistory.org]. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2013.
Polk, the new president, made a proposal to the Mexican government to purchase the disputed land. When that offer was rejected, troops from the United States were moved into the disputed territory of Coahuila. These troops were then attacked by Mexican troops, killing 12 American troops and taking 52 prisoners. These same Mexican troops later laid put upon a US fort along the Rio Grande. This would lead to the conflict that resulted in the loss of much of Mexico's northern territory.US forces quickly occupied Mexico and California Territory, then invaded parts of Northeastern Mexico and Northwest Mexico. The Pacific took control of several garrisons on the Pacific coast.
The sixties was a decade filled with major political debates that affected the entire country. By the time the sixties came around we were in the most turbulent part of the Cold War, an era of military and political tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. As Dwight Eisenhower brought the fifties to a close it was time for a new president to take hold of the reigns. As the country closed in on one of the closest elections in history it was up to Democratic candidate, John F. Kennedy to compete agains...
... the 1860’s, hair was always combed flat on top and parted in the center of the head, with the adornment of the hair done in the back. Some women wore curls or braids in the back of their heads, where others wore it all in a tight bun. Large ringlets were also popular for a time during the sixties although the flat topped center part remained a staple even with ringlets. (Setnik 46).
In the American history there are three main head styling groups. These groups are the rich Virginian group from 1619-1675, the rich in the American colonies from 1675-1775, and finally the poor or middle class of the colonies, which since the hair didn’t change much was pretty much the same all through the era.
"The U.S.-Mexican War . Prelude to War . Bluffs and Boundaries: James K. Polk's Policy of Brinkmanship | PBS." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. 14 Mar. 2006. Web. 10 Feb. 2011. .
One major trend of the 1920s was the short bob. This hairstyle was innovated by Coco Chanel. Before women cut their hair they used to wear their hair long so as a result, cutting their hair shorter was a form of rebellion. Another item of clothing that often went along with the bob is a hat called the cloche hat. Cloche is the French word for bell. They were decorated with different kinds of appliques feathers and brooches. During the 1920s most women were found wearing the cloche hat. When women were not wearing hats, they were found wearing headbands to compliment their bobbed hair. They also came in a variety of designs with gold accents, gems, and feathers.
The 1950s and the 1960s had many similarities, though they had many differences as well. Their similarities and differences include: the politics, the economy, the society, and the culture of both decades. In the 1950s, North Korea moved into South Korea and began a civil war between the two parallel countries. The reason for this dispute was the border lines as well as guerrilla fighting in the South, which created a greater tension on the issue. The reason why the U.S entered the Korean War was so that the Soviet Union would not gain another nation and, in turn, more power. Like the 50s, our country was also at war with another country in the 60s. This time, the U.S was at war with Vietnam. The U.S entered the war because the Vietnamese were known as an evil nation in the eyes of the American people. Communism was considered an immediate threat to the U.S in both Korea and in Vietnam. The president wanted to block the path of Communism so that it would not affect America or any of her allies. America was able to stop the Communism spreading in Korea. However, our country was not able to stop the Communism in Vietnam. The violence became so horrible, that the troops eventually had to move out of the country.
Sleep is necessary in order for the body to rest, and is a state of decreased consciousness and lowered metabolism. Sleep is very important for all living things. Getting a sufficient amount of sleep has numerous positive effects on humans. In humans, there are five main stages of sleep. As the brain passes through each stage, the frequency of waves slows down. The amount of sleep required for humans varies depending on age. Sleep is vital for the well-being of all living things because it improves both physical and mental health. Humans just can’t get enough of it!
In normal sleeping patterns a person usually passes through five phases of sleep, the fifth being REM. The sleeping human passes cyclically through these five phases throughout a night's rest. These phases can be defined in electrical activity of the brain; much like the activity of the heart is often defined. The technique of measuring the electrical activity of the brain is call Electro-encephalogram, or EEG. When the electrical events of a person's brain are graphed on a electrical magnitude versus time axis the graph of a person who is in different stages of being asleep or awake appear to have different levels of electrical activity occurring in the brain. (See (14))
“There is a wide belief that Americans are less class conscious than Europeans” (Vanneman). Because the United States consumes more than any other country, the global economy relies on our consumption. “The middle class is an ambiguous social classification, broadly reflecting the ability to lead a comfortable life” (Kharas). During the industrial revolution, there were aristocrat traditions in royalty, class, and rank in Europe. In America, the industrial revolution was coming of a wealthy nation. The United States is has a two party system, Republicans and Democrats. The Democrats wanted more people in the middle class, mainly blacks and immigrants. The Republicans wanted to protect the people who were already in the middle class, whites, and successful working people. The middle class in America is sometimes threatened by its own success. “The definition of the middle class is the people of generic roots like Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Robert Johnson, and Sam Walton can become billionaires” (Hockenberry). Not everyone who is in the middle class can become a billionaire and using their stories as an example is the death of the American
Exploringn a Neurobiological Theory of Dreaming Neurobiological theory of dreaming focuses on the brain and the nervous system. The activation synthesis theory which is one of the theories put forward by Hobson and Mcarley (1998) said sleep is controlled by mechanism in the brainstem. When activated this inhibits activity in the skeletal muscles and increases activity in the forebrain. This theory seems dreaming as an automatic part of the sleep process that may have no significance beyond the need to organize the material into coherent forms. Hobson points out that injection of a drug that increases the action of acetylcholine both increases REM sleep and dreaming.
the sleeper will gradually descend deeper into sleep, becoming more and more detached from the outside world and progressively more difficult to awaken. Stage three is the beginning of deep sleep, occurring about thirty to forty five minutes after you first fall asleep. The deepest sleep occurs in Stage four. Stage three and four has the biggest and slowest brain wave. REM sleep, a mentally active period during which dreaming occurs, provided a biological explanation for this phenomenon. Scientists found that brain activity during REM sleep begins in the pons, a structure in the brainstem, and neighboring midbrain regions. The pons sends signals to the thalamus and to the cerebral cortex, which is responsible for most thought processes. There are several myths about sleep. For one, how much sleep a person should get? According to our text book people should sleep for at least eight hours to maintain sound mental and physical health. But every one doesn’t get the chance to sleep for that amount of time. There is no normal amount of time you should sleep. Everyone is not the same. For one I might sleep for five hours and feel refreshed enough to work another shift. Other hand my cousin might need more then eight hours of sleep to feel refreshed.
Despite the large amount of time we spend asleep, surprisingly little is actually known about sleeping and dreaming. Much has been imagined, however. Over history, sleep has been conceived as the space of the soul, as a state of absence akin to death, as a virtual or alternate reality, and more recently, as a form of (sub)consciousness in which memories are built and erased. The significance attributed to dreams has varied widely as well. The Ancient Greeks had surprise dream encounters with their gods. Native Americans turned to their dreams for guidance in life. Shamans dreamed in order to gather information from the spirits.
Proteins are considered to be the most versatile macromolecules in a living system. This is because they serve crucial functions in all biological processes. Proteins are linear polymers, and they are made up of monomer units that are called amino acids. The sequence of the amino acids linked together is referred to as the primary structure. A protein will spontaneously fold up into a 3D shape caused by the hydrogen bonding of amino acids near each other. This 3D structure is determined by the sequence of the amino acids. The 3D structure is referred to as the secondary structure. There is also a tertiary structure, which is formed by the long-range interactions of the amino acids. Protein function is directly dependent on this 3D structure.