References

Sleep and Dreams

Gokalp, G; Internet Reference, 1999

Early scientists and philosophers saw sleep as a passive condition where the brain is isolated from the other parts of the body. Alcmaeon claimed that sleep was caused by the blood receding from the blood vessels in the skin to the interior parts of the body. Aristotle suggested that while food is being digested, vapors rise from the stomach because of their higher temperature and collect in the head. As the brain cools, the vapors condense, flow downward and then cool the heart which causes sleep. Still others claimed that toxins that poisoned the brain caused sleep (Lavie, 1993/1996). With the discovery of brain waves and later the discovery of electroencephalogram, the way sleep was studied changed forever. Electroencephalogram or EEG made it possible for sleep researcher to record the electrical activity of the brain during sleep.

Web Resource: www.csun.edu

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Keywords: dreaming, dreams, REM