A. Sauvageau et al., EFFECTS OF SOMATOSENSORY STIMULATION ON DREAM CONTENT IN GYMNASTS ANDCONTROL PARTICIPANTS - EVIDENCE OF VESTIBULOMOTOR ADAPTATION IN REM-SLEEP, Dreaming, 8(2), 1998, pp. 125-134
Somatosensory stimulation of the leg muscles in REM sleep appears to p
erturb virtual orientation in dream experiences. According to our mode
l of vestibulomotor adaptation (Sauvageau, Nielsen, & Montplaisir, 199
6), the dreaming mind attempts to compensate for such destabilizing st
imulation by increasing eye movement activity or by modifying dream co
ntent, among other possible reactions. Effective compensation may be m
ore easily achieved by participants who are adapted to the disruptive
stimulation or who possess highly developed vestibulomotor skills. To
examine this possibility, we studied the effects of somatosensory stim
ulation on the dreams of 6 gymnasts and 6 control participants aged 9
to 16 years. Results provide some support for the expectations that 1)
imposed somatosensory information is processed by the central nervous
system in REM sleep, 2) unilateral stimulation induces an upset in vi
rtual orientation 3) gymnasts are more resistant to these disruptive e
ffects of stimulation than are control participants, and 4) because of
long-term adaptation, the dream content of gymnasts does not differ m
arkedly from that of controls. Though preliminary and in need of repli
cation, the findings are compatible with the notion that the developed
vestibular skills of gymnasts protects them to some extent from the e
ffects of a disruptive somatosensory stimulus during sleep.