University of Virginia Library

Recent Sleep Experiments
Show Effects Of Deprivation

By Mike Russell
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

Sleep, one of the greatest single
characteristics common to all
men, is undergoing new study at
the University.

The National Institute of
Mental Health has awarded
$149,429 to the University of Virginia
School of Medicine for
studies of sleep in depressed patients
and children. The project
is to be headed by Dr. David R.
Hawkins, professor and chairman
of the department of psychiatry.

Research in the field of sleep
began in the fifties with the observations
by various investigators
that at times during the
sleep of patients, their eyes were
moving rapidly while closed.
When awakened while these
Rapid Eye Movements (REM)
were noticeable, patients could,
from 80-85% of the time, report
vivid dreams.

With the advent of the electroencephalogram
(EEG) sleep
could be divided into four phases
according to the type of waves
recorded. The first phase was
closely connected with REM's
and occurred for approximately
20% of the night. The other three
phases described progressively
deeper stages of sleep.

Dr. Hawkins and Dr. Van de
Castle's work involves the study
of the sleeping habits of depressed
patients and of children.
Symptoms of depression not only
involve waking activity, but sleeping
habits. The depressed person
finds it more difficult to get to
sleep at night, more difficult to
stay asleep, and has a tendency
to awaken earlier in the morning.
When EEGs are taken and REM
activity noted, it is found that
depressed patients experience less
phase one sleep, which is associated
with REM and dreams,
and less phase four sleep.

Whether depression leads to
these deviations from normal
sleeping habits, or altered habits
lead to depression is to be investigated.
Normal patients who
are deprived of phase one sleep
or all sleep tend to develop
symptoms of anxiousness and
suspicion and a need for this
dreaming stage. When allowed
to return to normal habits these
subjects have exhibited increased
REM sleep as if they were making
up for lost time. They exhibit
the same behavior when deprived
of phase four sleep. Depressed
patients on the other hand rebound
more slowly. As depressed
patients recover there can be
noticed an increase in both of
these stages of sleep until they
approximate normal.

All of this evidence seems to
indicate that there is some need
for REM or dreaming sleep.
Their studies with children have
shown that there could be a connection
between dreaming and
maturation of the brain. Young
children experience 70-80% REM
sleep which decreases till about
the age of four when they can be
measured for the normal 20%.
In retarded children and adults
REM sleep occupies a lesser portion
of the time. Dr. Hawkins
and Dr. Van de Castle are attempting
to discover what physiological
effects or influence REM
sleep may have on the development
of later abnormalities.

Dr. Van de Castle plans, in addition
to the depression project,
to carry out a study on dreams.
The study is involved with gathering
a number of dreams and scoring
them on content. Presently
his files include ten-thousand
dreams. By scoring these dreams
he hopes to discover cultural or
ethnic norms and compare them
according to content.