Arousal from sleep: The effects of the cognitive value of auditory stimuli

Abstract

The present research describes the effects that different histories of positive reinforcement may have relative to the arousal produced during sleep by otherwise quite similar auditory stimuli. In general, the cognitive loading established by different reinforcement histories appears to be an effective parameter determining arousal but only within certain limitations. First, the differential effects were noted only during sleep characterized by slow-wave EEG activity and not during sleep characterized by fast-wave EEG activity. Secondly, it would appear that the amount of reinforcement is not necessarily the controlling variable. Rather, it would appear that the consistency of the occurrence of reinforcements relative to the individual’s behavior is critically related to how effective the auditory stimulus is in producing arousal during sleep. These results are interpreted as supporting the contention that sleep, or at least certain types of sleep, represent a need state. © 1976, Psychonomic Society, Inc.. All rights reserved.