You Have Interpreted the PGO Waves of REM Sleep as Activation of the Startle Network of the Brain. What Is Your Theory of the Function of Off-Line Startle and What Impact, If Any, Does This Activation Have Upon Dreaming?

Abstract

Comments on the articles by J. Allan Hobson (see record [rid]2014-54589-002[/rid]), (see record [rid]2014-54589-003[/rid]) & (see record [rid]2014-54589-004[/rid]). In 1976, Bob Bowker and I reported that waves seemingly identical to spontaneous PGO waves (usually called spikes then) could be elicited by sounds in REM sleep as well as NREM sleep. We proposed that pontogeniculo- occipital (PGO) waves were probably evidence of the spontaneous excitation of the startle network. This conclusion stemmed from Dement's report that cats under the influence of the anti-serotonergic drug, p-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA), startled every time a PGO wave occurred when they were 'awake.' We later changed from 'startle' to 'alerting' because we considered that the waves reflected the activation of a system responsible for detection of a stimulus, fundamental to the organization of the critical behavioral response of orienting, with startle being a less organized expression of a response to an unexpected stimulus. The focus on eye activity and dreams may have led other workers away from what is in our opinion their real significance; a sign of internal alerting in the brain, a fundamental and 'peculiar' aspect of REM sleep. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)