REM sleep eye movement counts correlate with visual imagery in dreaming: a pilot study.
Psychophysiology May 1, 1997 C C Hong, S G Potkin, J S Antrobus et al.
A strong association exists between the number of rapid eye movements during REM sleep and the amount of visual imagery in dreaming, but only in the one-minute interval just before awakening. This finding, based on eleven observations from a single individual to eliminate interindividual variation, supports the proposal that recorded eye movements during REM sleep are visually targeted saccades. The time course of the association suggests it reflects a phasic, localized activation of the eye-movement-control system linked to REM sleep eye movements.