Abstract: The bizarre and evanescent qualities of dreams have invited boundless speculation about their origin, meaning and purpose. For most of the twentieth century, scientific dream theories were mainly psychological.Lucid dream experiences tend to be remembered nearly as well as waking experiences. REM dreams can be considered as a kind of a simulation of the real world on a higher cognitive level. The biological function of dreaming is to simulate threatening events, and to rehearse threat perception and threat avoidance. By repeating targeted and specific objects and memories in dreams, waking performance and emotions could be altered, a notion which is also discussed within findings about sleep-related memory consolidation processes. Previous studies have demonstrated intriguing psychophysiological correspondences when lucid dreamers carried out specific tasks during lucid dreams1 (e.g., eye movements and EMG activities). But only a few studies have investigated specific memory recall and object recall during lucid dreaming. This study tests the hypothesis that external stimuli presented during sleep can affect dream content and dream emotions of lucid dreamer, thus reflecting information processing of the sleeping brain. In this experiment we will focus on this subject and propose that the following approach advanced here emphasizes data that suggest that REM sleep may constitute a protoconscious state, providing a virtual reality model of the world that is of functional use to the development and maintenance of waking consciousness and it might be effective in treating some psychological disorders such as depression, nightmares, Phobia, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and also migraine by a new self-hypnosis method. It would also be interesting to conduct learning experiments (associating specific odors with declarative material) to study whether this declarative material is incorporated into subsequent dreams if the corresponding odor cue is presented during sleep.
Introduction: Realization that one is dreaming brings a wonderful sense of freedom–freedom to try anything in the extended range of experience. Researchers cued new memories in humans during sleep by presenting an odor that had been presented as context during prior learning, and so showed that reactivation indeed causes memory consolidation during sleep.2 Research has shown that external stimuli presented during sleep can affect dream content, thus reflecting information processing of the sleeping brain. Olfactory stimuli should have a stronger effect on dream emotions because their processing is linked directly to the limbic system. This study tests the hypothesis that learning (performing squats) and early emotional experiences (Autobiographical memories) carried out in a lucid dream could be reconstructed by Reexposure group of >visual-olfactory stimulus that have affected the subject before sleep, by using hypnotherapeutic olfactory conditioning (HOC) method. Many combat veterans with posttraumatic 1
Cardiovascular responses to dreamed physical exercise during REM lucid dreaming.Erlacher, Daniel; Schredl, Michael, Dreaming, Vol 18(2), Jun 2008, 112-121 2 Science 9 March 2007: Vol. 315 no. 5817 pp. 1426-1429| doi: 10.1126/science.1138581
stress disorder (PTSD) have an olfactory component to their traumatic memories that might be utilized by a technique called hypnotherapeutic olfactory conditioning (HOC). HOC shows potential for providing benefit to individuals suffering from PTSD with olfactory components. Whether and how external stimuli are processed during sleep has been studied mainly by two different paradigms: event-related potentials (Bastuji and Garcia-Larrea, 1999) and incorporation into dream content (Schredl, 2008). Whereas the first approach demonstrated that simple mechanisms such as detecting salient stimuli or deviance detection persist during sleep (for an overview, see Bastuji and Garcia-Larrea, 1999), the second approach is necessary to study whether conscious processes are also involved. The standard procedure is to present a stimulus during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and wake the sleeper after a brief period of time to elicit dream content. Using olfactory stimuli in this design is of interest because of two reasons. First, Carskadon and Herz (2004) have demonstrated that olfactory stimuli rarely woke the sleeper, and Stuck et al. (2007) showed that olfactory stimuli without trigeminal component such as hydrogen sulphide (H2S) do not cause arousals even at high concentrations. However, Stuck et al. (2006a) found that olfactory event-related potentials can be measured during sleep, indicating that chemosensory stimuli are processed by the sleeping brain. Secondly, olfactory stimuli were processed differently within the brain compared with auditory stimuli: this includes the predominantly ipsilateral processing of the olfactory stimuli, and the almost direct projection from the olfactory bulb to the amygdala (areas for the processing of memories and emotions) and the association to the hippocampus via the transitional entorhinal cortex (cf. Smith and Shepherd, 2003), Thirdly, the fact that olfactory information processing largely bypasses the spinal cord, the brain stem and the thalamus – in contrast to all other sensory systems (Gottfried, 2006) – might explain the small number of arousals after stimulation which was comparable with non-stimulated sleep episodes (Stuck et al., 2007) because thalamic reticular nuclei are involved in arousal generation (McCormick and Bal, 1997).Trotter et al. (1988) carried out a small pilot study with five participants to study the effect of olfactory stimuli on dream content. The incorporation rate was 19% (79 successful trials in 22 nights). The following example was reported by a participant after presentation of a freshly cut lemon: I dreamed I was in Golden Gate Park. I was walking by some gardenias. They were just opening. All of a sudden, I could smell the gardenias, but they smelled like lemons instead of gardenias. (Trotter et al., 1988, p. 95) In another research fifteen healthy, normosmic volunteers were studied by intranasal chemosensory stimulation during rapid eye movement sleep based on air-dilution olfactometry. For olfactory stimulation, hydrogen sulphide (smell of rotten eggs) and phenyl ethyl alcohol (smell of roses) was used and compared with a control condition without stimulation.
The olfactory stimuli affected significantly the emotional content of dreams. The findings indicate that information processing of olfactory stimuli is present in sleep and that the emotional tone of dreams can be influenced significantly depending upon the hedonic characteristic of the stimulus used.3
Statement of Problem: Investigators since Freud have appreciated that memories of the people, places, activities and emotions of daily life are reflected in dreams but are typically so fragmented that their predictability is nil. The mechanisms that translate such memories into dream images remain largely unknown.4 Beside that technology dominates the people nowadays and commonly seen, media and social networks cause a lot of Problems such as Stress, Depression and Neurosis* in society. Before going to bed, people watch news and follow TV programs which could affect their minds before sleep and evoke some emotions that will play a vital role in their dream content .There are six types of effects from media on individuals. These six differ in terms of the part of the person affected or the character of the experience of the effect within an individual. These six are cognition, belief, attitude, affect, physiology, and behavior. How do the media exert their influence? There are four possible ways. These four ways generally span across all six types of effects. These four media-influenced functions are acquiring, triggering (by mirror neurons**), altering, and reinforcing (conditioning).When we think of effects, we typically think of change, that is, a change in behavior or a change in attitude. But some effects— perhaps the most important and powerful media effects—show up as purpose the reinforcing of existing habits. On the other hand we could use Media as a tool that its effects will be channelized in specific direction by a new Self-hypnosis method. It is generally agreed that sleep aids memory consolidation and after being affected by external emotional stimulus such as social networks and TV before sleep and we know that offline memory reprocessing during sleep is an important component of how our memories are formed and ultimately shaped.5 *A neurosis is characterized by anxiety, internal tensions and conflicts, uncontrollable avoidance of threatening situations, and ineffective coping. Examples include panic, phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and posttraumatic stress.
** Mirror neurons are a class of neurons first discovered in the monkey premotor cortex that activate both when the monkey executes an action and when it observes the same action made by another individual. These neurons enable individuals to understand actions performed by others.
Objectives: There are many approaches such as meditation, visiting a psychologist, participating in self-awareness courses, reading a book, that lead a person to analyze his/her inner disorders or learn to deal with 3
Information processing during sleep: the effect of olfactory stimuli on dream content and dream emotions| doi: 10.1111/j.13652869.2009.00737.x 4 Nature 437, 1286-1289 (27 October 2005) | doi: 10.1038/nature04288; Published online 26 October 2005 5
Nature 437, 1272-1278 (27 October 2005) | doi:10.1038/nature04286; Published online 26 October 2005
his/her psychological disorders, in order to find the inner peace that even effect the biological changes in the body of the person. In this Research we will focus on the nature of Sleep during its different stages and its effect on reality. We will offer new self-analyzing Tools and methods with an Object, selfmanipulating some peace destructive emotions to a subject with a new self-hypnotherapeutic olfactory conditioning approach. The discussion will focus on two primary themes: the role played by belief systems and learning in shaping emotional experiences (that could be evoked in Lucid dream), and the role played by factors which appear to be independent of the dreamer’s beliefs and learning, which we propose is a new approach and might also be effective in treating some psychological disorders and Desensitization.
Plan of Action: Mirror neurons are a class of neurons first discovered in the monkey premotor cortex that activate both when the monkey executes an action and when it observes the same action made by another individual. These neurons enable individuals to understand actions performed by others. Current conceptual models attribute high level functions such as action understanding, imitation, and language to mirror neurons. Regarding to this subject, we will show a movie or an image that is related to a specific traumatic Memory, object or specific Task for a subject while exposing subject with Unpleasant external stimulus like an Odor, that will produce an olfactory component connection with subjects declarative memory .After presenting this condition, subject will be exposed to a reverse threads related image or movie that is accompanied with its specific external stimulus which are more pleasurable. During showing a reversed motivational memory simulator, we suppose that spiking mirror neurons could build a connection between their action and the external stimulus presented during an imagery simulated memory. This could be done vice-versa. After being sensitive to these new shaped connections, we will ask subject to sleep. While sleeping we will present the same external stimulus to a subject and try to help the subject evoke his/her specific traumatic memory ,Object or the specific Task that is synced to specific predefined Odor and then after being assured about the effect of imagery related external stimulus on specific memory , object or Task recall we will try to replace/deploy Emotional responses to a memory, object or Task related to previous external stimulus with new external stimulus that are related to pleasant emotions and then present those pleasurable external stimulus during Slow-Wave Sleep in order to Prompt Declarative Memory Consolidation. We suppose that by repeating this process we could give subject the chance to self-hypnotize his/her self in order to manage some emotionalrelated options. In the beginning we will use Smell of vanilla, lavender, Jasmine, Valerian, citrus, peppermint, rosemary, eucalyptus... to make a connection.
References: 1.Cardiovascular responses to dreamed physical exercise during REM lucid dreaming.Erlacher, Daniel; Schredl, Michael, Dreaming, Vol 18(2), Jun 2008, 112-121 2. Information processing during sleep: the effect of olfactory stimuli on dream content and dream emotions. Schredl M1, Atanasova D, HĂśrmann K, Maurer JT, Hummel T, Stuck BA.
3. 10.1080/00207141003760926,Eitan G. Abramowitza* & Pesach Lichtenbergb,pages 316-328 4. Applications of Lucid Dreaming in Sports, PAUL THOLEY, Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität, Germany 5. 22 JUN 2009 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2869.2009.00737.x, MICHAEL SCHREDL1, DESISLAVA ATANASOVA1, 2, KARL HÖRMANN2, JOACHIM T. MAURER2, THOMAS HUMMEL3 and BORIS A. STUCK2 6. Science 9 March 2007: Vol. 315 no. 5817 pp. 1426-1429 DOI: 10.1126/science.1138581 7. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, Volume 38, Issue 4, December 2007, Pages 371–385, Imagery rescripting in cognitive behaviour therapy: Images, treatment techniques and outcomes. 8. Journal of Sleep Research, Volume 18, Issue 3, pages 285–290, Information processing during sleep: the effect of olfactory stimuli on dream content and dream emotions. 9. Aromatherapy Positively Affects Mood, Eeg Patterns of Alertness and Math Computations,Access options,DOI:10.3109/00207459808986469,Miguel A. Diegoa, Nancy Aaron Jonesa, Tiffany Fielda*, Maria Hernandez-reifa, Saul Schanbergb, Cynthia Kuhnb, Mary Galamagab, Virginia McAdamc & Robert Galamagac,pages 217-224 10. Nature 437, 1286-1289 (27 October 2005) | doi:10.1038/nature04288; Published online 26 October 2005 11. Nature 437, 1272-1278 (27 October 2005) | doi:10.1038/nature04286; Published online 26 October 2005