Effect of Visual Stimuli on Dream Content
Allan Rechtschaffen, David Foulkes
Perceptual and Motor Skills June 1, 1965 DOI: 10.2466/pms.1965.20.3c.1149 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental sleep study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 3 |
| Population | Three sleeping human participants |
| Measures | EEG, eye movement recordings |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Key findings | Occasional dream imagery contained light stimulation, but there was essentially no evidence for a correspondence between reported dream imagery and the specific characteristics of the illuminated stimulus objects. The authors argue that this relative functional blindness during sleep fails to support theories stating that dream images are determined by patterns of retinal excitation. |
Abstract
Three S s slept with their eyes taped open and their pupils chemically dilated while stages of sleep were monitored by EEG and eye movement recordings. Various objects were illuminated in front of S s' open eyes. Shortly following the stimulus presentations, S s were awakened and reports of dream experiences and other imagery during sleep were obtained. Although there were occasional instances of dream imagery containing light stimulation, there was essentially no evidence for a correspondence between the reported imagery and the specific characteristics of the stimulus objects. The relative functional blindness of sleep fails to support theories stating that dream images are determined by patterns of retinal excitation.