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INSTRUMENTAL BEHAVIOR DURING SLEEP

1966; Wiley; Volume: 2; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/j.1469-8986.1966.tb02644.x

1469-8986

Harold L. Williams, Henry C. Morlock, Jean V. Morlock,

Sleep and Wakefulness Research

ABSTRACT Repetitive auditory stimuli were used to examine the ability of human S s to sustain instrumental motor responses during sleep. A majority of simple (one tone) and discriminative (two tones) responses occurred without distinct electrographic signs of awakening. Punishment for response failure, which changed neutral stimuli to warning signals, increased the probability of correct responding, particularly to stimuli which did not evoke the alpha rhythm. Correct responding was a decreasing function of Stages 1, 2, and 3 plus 4, in that order. In Stage REM, however, response probability was markedly affected by the nature of the stimulus. When the stimulus was converted from a neutral to a warning signal, the probability of responding was raised from nearly zero to levels approximating those of other low‐voltage EEG stages. These results suggest that while low responsiveness in Stage 4 may be due to physiological depression. Stage REM is a state of activation in which external stimuli are normally blocked. Contingent reinforcement, by changing the significance of the stimulus, modifies this occlusion‐like phenomenon, permitting appropriate responding.