Lucidity
Letter 6(2), 1987
Articles:
Research Reports
“Consciousness”
During Sleep in a TM Practitioner: Heart Rate, Respiration and Eye Movement.
J.
Gackenbach, W. Moorecroft, C. Alexander & S. LaBerge
Reports of consciousness during dreaming or lucid dreaming have been verified by having the dreamer signal from the dream that he/she is dreaming with a prearranged set of distinctive lateral eye movements (LaBerge, 1985). This basic methodology has subsequently been replicated in other sleep laboratories. Relatedly, a continuation of consciousness from the waking state into the sleep state is claimed to be a key aspect of the experience of "Transcendental Consciousness", which is developed by the practice of Transcendental Meditation (TM; Banquet & Sailhan, 1974).
Research suggests that a distinctive
psychophysiological state of restful alertness, referred to as Transcendental
Consciousness, may be produced during subperiods of
practice of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) program (e.g., Orme-Johnson & Haynes, 1981). In this state, the
subject-object relationship is said to be transcended, including all
representation structures; knower, known and process of knowing converge in one
unified field of pure (content-free) consciousness. Reported episodes of
Transcendental Consciousness (button press are highly correlated with bilateral
and homolateral alpha and theta EEG coherence and
with apparent periods of respiratory suspension for 15-60 seconds duration and
lower heart rate (e.g., Farrow & Herbert, 1982). Vedic psychology (Maharishi, 1969; Alexander et al., in press) predicts that
repeated experience of the least excited state of Transcendental Consciousness
during TM can give rise to a stable higher stage of consciousness in which pure
consciousness is maintained as a silent, uninvolved "witness" to the
changing states of waking, dreaming and sleeping. In contrast "lucid
dreaming" is associated with an increase in autonomic arousal indices
suggesting an increase in active cognitive processing (LaBerge,
1985). It is predicted that the temporary experience of restfully alert,
Transcendental Consciousness can be stably maintained as a higher stage of
consciousness throughout the 24 hour waking, dreaming and sleeping cycle.
Methodology
This study investigated the electrophysiological
correlates of sleep and dreaming in a single advanced practitioner of TM who
reported maintaining the experience of "Transcendental Consciousness"
throughout the 24 hour cycle. This 28
year old male had been meditating for 5.8 years and received one of the highest
scores thus far recorded on an inventory designed to assess self reports of the
attainment of higher states of consciousness (Stage of Consciousness Inventory,
SCI; Alexander,
As noted the state produced by TM practice is
characterized by low levels of autonomic arousal (Orme-Johnson
& Haynes, 1981). Since the possibly
related state of "lucid dreaming" is associated with increased
autonomic arousal (LaBerge, Levitan
& Dement, 1986), we addressed the question of whether experiences of
"Transcendental Consciousness" signaled by eye-movements during sleep
would show physiological correlates distinct from lucid dreaming.
The TM subject (TMS) and three others, two who
reported frequent by experiencing lucid dreams and one who had never had a
lucid dream, were studied in a sleep laboratory for 2 to 7 nights. Standard polysomnograms
(EEG, EOG, and EMG as well as pulse and respiration) were recorded. Only eye movement, heart rate and respiration
data will be reported here.
Results
Initially we looked at REM differences between this
TM lucid dreamer and two dreamers who reported frequently experiencing
lucidity, were able to accomplish the eyemovement
signaling task at home but not during their two nights in the sleep laboratory
(LDS) and one dreamer who reported never having had a lucid dream and was
unable to do the signaling task at home when instructed to try (NLDS). The resulting one way analyses of variance on
all three dependent variables were significant (eye movement, F(2,993)=60.68, p<.00001; heart rate, F(2,784)=295.409,
p<.00001; respiration, F(2,787)=185,37, p<.00001). The Duncan's a-postori
test showed, as expected by the low arousal model for Transcendental
Consciousness, the TMS's heart rate and respiration
were significantly lower than the LDS or the NLDS (mean heart rate/minute, TMS
= 7.14, LDS = 7.32, NLDS = 9.11). However, for eye movement density, the
picture was less clear. That is, the LDS's had significantly higher eye
movement density per 30 second epoch (mean = 6.07) than either the NLDS (mean =
2.69) or the TMS (mean = 2.20) who did not differ.
To determine if there were any REM differences as a
function of the different demand characteristics associated with the REM
episodes of the TMS, we also looked at four types of REM episodes from this TM
lucid dreamer and compared them to the REM episodes of the other two dreamer
types. Specifically, we compared eye movement density, hear rate and
respiration rate within the REM episodes of the two lucid dreamers (Group 6,
Table 1) to those of the non-lucid dreamer (Group 5) and to four different
types of REM episodes from the TM subject. These included REM epochs after he
signaled (Group 4) and before he signaled (Group 3). Group 2 consisted of REM
episodes where he did not signal nor was he instructed to signal and, finally,
Group 1 consisted of REM episodes where he did not signal but he had been
instructed to signal. As before, these one way analyses of variance were significant
for all three dependent variables (eye movement F(5,993)=25.47, p<.00001;
heart rate F(5,784)=118.054, p<.00001; respiration F(5,787)=77.60,
p<.00001). The means and a-postori results are
given in Table 1.
The results of these analyses are clearest for heart
rate. That is, across types of REM and types of people the TM subject showed
significantly slower heart rates. The picture is less clear for eye-movement
density and respiration. For the former the significance was clearly accounted
for by the high eye movement density of the lucid dreamers who did not signal
in the laboratory but who were instructed to do so. For respiration, the
non-lucid dreamer showed higher rates that the others. This is surprising if
one assumes an arousal model as an individual predisposition for lucidity to
occur (Snyder & Gackenbach, in press).
Next, following LaBerge
et al, mean Z-scores per 30 second epoches counting
from the prearranged eye movement signals were computed for REM density, heart
rate and respiration rate. The TM subject maintained that he had been
continuously “conscious”; the signals represent the times he “remembered to
signal.” T-tests comparing, on the average, 10 epoches
following the signal to, on the average, 30 epoches
preceding the signal were computed on each dependent variable for each stage in
which he signaled. These data are illustrated in bar graphs where z-scores from
just prior to and just after the signal are graphed for all three dependent
variable occurring during REM, Stage 1 and Stage 2 (see Figures 1, 2 and 3).
Again, as predicted with the lower arousal model for
Transcendental Consciousness attained through Transcendental Meditation, no
significant pre-post signal differences were found for any of the dependent
variables from stages 2 or REM. However,
for stage 1 eye movement (t(79)=-2.85, p<.006; see
Figure 1) and respiration (t(92)=2.03, p<.04; see Figure 2) showed
significant pre-post signal differences.
Eye movement density went up after the signal (mean pre=-0.14, mean
post=0.62) while respiration went down (mean pre=.10, mean post=-.40). If you look at the bar graph of Figure 1 you
can see that the eye movement finding is probably an artifact of the high
density of one epoch. The low
respiration finding was consistent with the low arousal model.
Figures 4, 5, and 6 portray the z-scores from LaBerge et al.'s REM normative data and the TMS's REM data from signaled epochs. With regards to stage
REM, as per LaBerge et al, eye movement density
(Figure 4) and heart rate (Figure 6) showed elevated levels just prior to
and/or just after the signal. It should be noted that the 30 second epoch just
prior to the signal is considered part of the signaling process as generally
one must think about signaling before one does it. Where these figures differ from those
reported by LaBerge et al is that this subject seemed
to recover more quickly from the momentary "arousal" caused by the
signaling.
Discussion
Interpretation of these data is speculative as it
involves only one TMS. However, with this limitation in mind, one could say that
just as the experience of Transcendental Consciousness during Transcendental
Meditation tends to be associated with a lower state of arousal so to the
reported experience of Transcendental Consciousness during sleep tended to be
associated with a lower level of arousal than during lucid or nonlucid dreaming in other subjects. The finding that the TMS was able to
voluntarily signal from REM, Stage 1, and Stage 2 indicates that this deep
state of restfulness was combined with an inner state of alertness or
wakefulness. Further, these findings
suggest that the restfully alert state of Transcendental Consciousness was only
momentarily disrupted during the signaling task and then quickly returned to
the low arousal, silent, wakeful condition.
In contrast, lucid dreaming appears to involve a high arousal active
state of information processing that corresponds to and is maintained after the
signal and apparently during the remainder of the lucid dreaming period.
References
Alexander, C.N., Davies, J., Dillbeck, M.,
Banquet, Jean-Paul & Sailhan, M. (1974,
April). Quantified EEG spectral analysis of sleep
and Transcendental Meditation. Paper presented at the second European
Congress on Sleep Research,
Farrow, J.T. & Hebert, J.R. (1982). The
psychophysiology of advanced participants in the Transcendental Meditation
program. Psychosomatic Medicine,
44(2), 133-153.
Kesterson, John (1985). Respiratory changes during the Transcendental Meditation
technique. Society for
Neuroscience Abstracts, 1144, 334.8.
LaBerge, S.
(1985). Lucid dreaming.
LaBerge, S., Levitan, L. & Dement, W.
(1986). Lucid dreaming: Physiological
correlates of consciousness during REM sleep. The Journal of Mind and Behavior: Special Issue: Cognition and Dream
Research. 7(2&3), 251-258.
Maharishi Mahesh
Yogi (1967). On the Bhagavad-Gita: A new
translation and commentary (chapters 1-6.)
Orme-Johnson, D.W. & Haynes,
C.T. (1981). EEG phase coherence, pure consciousness, creativity
and TM-Sidhi experiences. International Journal of Neuroscience, 13, 211-217.
Snyder, T.J. & Gackenbach, J.I. (in press). Individual differences
associated with the lucid dreaming ability. In J.I. Gackenbach and S. LaBerge (Eds.), Consciousness
mind, sleeping brain: Perspectives on lucid dreaming.
This research was supported
by grants to the first two authors from their respective institutions. A
shorter version of this paper appeared originally in the ASD Newsletter
and was presented at the 1987 annual conference of the Association for the
Study of Dreams