Sleep paralysis abstract 02
Haunter
Hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations during sleep paralysis:
neurological and cultural construction of the night-mare.
Cheyne JA, Rueffer SD, Newby-Clark IR
Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario,
Canada. ach...@watarts.uwaterloo.ca
Hypnagogic and hypnopompic experiences (HHEs) accompanying sleep
paralysis (SP) are often cited as sources of accounts
of supernatural nocturnal assaults and paranormal experiences.
Descriptions of such experiences are remarkably consistent
across time and cultures and consistent also with known mechanisms of
REM states. A three-factor structural model of HHEs
based on their relations both to cultural narratives and REM
neurophysiology is developed and tested with several large
samples. One factor, labeled Intruder, consisting of sensed presence,
fear, and auditory and visual hallucinations, is conjectured
to originate in a hypervigilant state initiated in the midbrain.
Another factor, Incubus, comprising pressure on the chest, breathing
difficulties, and pain, is attributed to effects of hyperpolarization
of motoneurons on perceptions of respiration. These two
factors have in common an implied alien "other" consistent with occult
narratives identified in numerous contemporary and
historical cultures. A third factor, labeled Unusual Bodily
Experiences, consisting of floating/flying sensations, out-of-body
experiences, and feelings of bliss, is related to physically
impossible experiences generated by conflicts of endogenous and
exogenous activation related to body position, orientation, and
movement. Implications of this last factor for understanding of
orientational primacy in self-consciousness are considered. Central
features of the model developed here are consistent with
recent work on hallucinations associated with hypnosis and
schizophrenia. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.