Decision Making in the Orbitofrontal Cortex

         There are many neural circuits that dictate thought processing in the brain. The Orbitofrontal neural circuit is an important part of the brain that is shown to be active when processing mission making. People make decisions everyday, such as choosing what food to eat or what clothes they should wear in the morning. Thornston Kant has shown in his research that the Orbitofrontal cortex is a major component for decision making in non-human primates and human subjects. In another article by Ramon Nogueira, he demonstrates that the OFC encodes upcoming choices in rat subjects.

    Thorston Kant found results that directly correlate the OFC and decision making processes. The experiment created by Kant had non-human primates initially learn two choices. Once they made their preferred choice, the experimenters induced Sham brain stimulation in the OFC. Once they did this, they discovered that subjects in the Sham stimulation group would prefer the opposite choice instead of the choice they made initially. These results exhibit the neural circuits responsible for decision making in the OFC.

    Another study I found had a similar study that used rat subjects to test neural processes of their OFC. Ramon Nogueira had tetrodes inserted to the right hemisphere of the rat targeting the OFC section of the brain. In this study the rats were placed in a box that had three adjacent compartments. The rats were placed in one compartment while the other two were closed off but had socket openings for each. The rats were induced with two physical stimulus and one of the sockets from one room opened up while the stimulus was induced. After multiple trials, one socket was deemed the reward socket and had water as the reward. The tetrodes were used to measure the activation of the neuronal units in the OFC and illustrated a correlation between perceptual decision-making and OFC activation.

Overall, theses researchers have presented results that directly associate the OFC with decision making process in the brain. This evidence can help doctors understand why damage to the OFC may affect a patients decisions making. Perhaps this study may lead to a method for repairing this section of the brain through stimulation.

References:

Fang Wang, Thorsten Kahnt, Neural circuits for inference-based decision-making, Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, Volume 41,2021, Pages 10-14, ISSN 2352-1546, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2021.02.004.

Nogueira, R. et al. Lateral orbitofrontal cortex anticipates choices and integrates prior with current                 information. Nat. Commun. 8, 14823 doi: 10.1038/ncomms14823 (2017).

Inducing Lucid Dreams and its Potential Long-Term Risks on Mental Health

     Since we spend a significant part of our lives dreaming, it is imperative that dreams are thoroughly studied. In the last few years, the topic of lucid dreaming and the induction of lucid dreaming has become more widespread. People enjoy controlling their dreams for various reasons: the ability to escape reality, to perform things that are not possible in real life, to overcome a fear, to solve problems, to fulfill their dreams, etc. When people report on their dreams, their reports can be subject to distortion and forgetfulness caused by the delay between the dream and the report (Konkoly). Instead of relying solely on unreliable dream reports, Konkoly and her colleagues found a way to communicate with lucid dreamers while they are actively dreaming. Konkoloy and her colleagues induced lucid dreaming by pairing a reality check with sensory stimulation which trained participants to associate a cue with a lucid state of mind. This two-way communication between the dreamer and the researcher is ground-breaking and it has the possibility to be the foundation of many future research studies on dreams. However, before further research is done, it is crucial that we also analyze the risks of inducing lucid dreams.

    Soffer-Dudek’s research, “Lucid Dreaming: Intensity, But Not Frequency, Is Inversely Related to Psychopathology,” is the first research study to explore the potential long-term risks following the use of lucid dreaming induction techniques. Aviram and Soffer-Dudek and his colleagues found that lucid dream intensity was inversely correlated to several psychopathological symptoms including depression and anxiety. Along with that finding, induced lucid dreaming significantly predicted an increase in dissociation and schizotypy symptoms across a span of two months. This underpins the idea that lucid dreaming induction techniques, like reality testing used in Konkoly’s research, may induce symptoms in which people are unable to differentiate between reality and fantasy, also known as derealization. This research shows that there are long-term risks of inducing lucid dreaming. So where do we go from here? I believe that there is more research that needs to be done on the risks of inducing lucid dreaming since this is the only research that has studied the potential long-term risks I think being able to communicate with lucid dreamers is a very helpful research technique but is it worth risking the mental health of the participants?

Dream Research: A Serious Pursuit in Neuroscience

    Dreams often depict threats and/or social situations, yet the reason why one may experience dreams are 

inconclusive. Dreams may appear as frivolous figments of imagination, but this may be the neuroscience

brink of resolving dysfunctional dreaming and sleeping patterns. Some cognitive theories that have 

developed to explain this phenomenon include the purpose of emotional adaptation, the stimulation of 

problem solving and creativity, and the exploration of weak associations within our memories and

knowledge base. Specifically, dreams originate in the brainstem and are resultant from its random 

activation. Research conducted with dreamers who experience lucid dreams and hypnotization would 

allow further understanding of the maintenance of working memory in sleep, the ability to combine 

advantages from states of wakefulness and sleep to intervene dysfunctional dreaming and further develop 

hypnotic therapy within neuroscience.

The Konkoly et al., researcher team of 2021 sought to bridge the fragmented retelling of dreams to experimenters, by administering direct communication and quick analysis turn around in a lab as patients underwent a variation of sleep study within the publication of their article, “Real-time dialogue between experimenters and dreamers during REM sleep.” The method attained in the measurement of brain activity involved EEGs for the tracking of sleep waves in conjunction with electrophysiological signals from polysomnographic recordings for the verification of the sleep stage of interest REM. The results compiled from electrophysiological signals allowed the composition of data from veridical perceptual analysis of novel information, maintenance of information in working memory, simple computation, and volitional replies. Participants would notify experimenters of their responses with predetermined eye signaling; EOG signals were utilized to measure the eye movements of their responses and also displayed their real-time eye movements directly on a computer monitor. Lucid sleep state were generally attained by participants near the beginning of a period of REM sleep. After participants signaled, they had entered a lucid sleep state experimenters would present them with a spoken math problem. After participants fully regained their consciousness, they reported the equation presented in their dream. Although many of the participants answered the equations correctly in REM sleep, altered math problems or answers were also reported. Previous studies have long proven that cognition and consciousness never cease in the state of sleep; rather cognitive abilities become limited from the probable cause of dorsolateral prefrontal deactivation during REM sleep. The results that were drawn from this study reveal that two-way communication between experimenters and dreamers is in fact attainable. Which encourages greater funding in dream research to utilize differing stimuli to perfect levels of communication from basic to complex. 

    A similar study conducted by Diolaiuti et al., research team for the “Association of hypnotizability 

and deep sleep: any role for interoceptive sensibility?” in year prior to Konkoly’s publication, 

explores the influence of interoceptive sensibility in relation to the degree of hypnotizability in the 

(N3) deep sleep stage. Specifically, the integration of information from inner sensations when 

conscious reviewed in participants experiencing deep sleep. The method of recording brain activity 

within this study was the use of polysomnographic EEG recordings. Participants underwent a 

familiarization night to gain base rate recordings that were sampled at 512 Hz, with 20 electrodes 

placed within the 10–20 International System and grounded at Pz. The N1 sleep state was depicted 

in polysomnographic EEG recordings in shorter durations within participants who self-reported 

high degrees of hypnotizability than in participants who self-reported medium/low degrees of 

hypnotizability.  Regarding the recordings produced from the N3 sleep state, participants who self-

reported high degrees or low degrees of hypnotizability produced significantly shorter durations in 

comparison to the self-reports of medium hypnotizability. The study concluded that hypnotizability 

is not linearly correlated regarding the duration of deep sleep experienced in the N3 sleep stage. 

The duration of deep sleep was reported non-significant when interoceptive characteristics are 

controlled, including self-regulation, emotional awareness, and body listening. Poor sleep quality 

has been linked with poor interoception in healthy patients and those who experience depression 

and/or anxiety. This reveals a resistance in participants who self-report high degrees of 

hypnotizability and participants who self-report low degrees of hypnotizability with an inability of 

entering deep sleep stages.   Such findings imply that participants who self-report high degrees of 

hypnotizability are less likely to enter deep sleep. This research conducted byDiolaiuti provides 

insight in revealing an unintended aspect of deep sleep that is necessary in order to induce lucid 

sleep states. The research findings concluded that hypnotizability does not correlate to the duration 

of deep sleep experienced in the N3 sleep stage. Although lucid sleep states are only experienced 

in REM sleep, thus proving that each sleep state must be individually reviewed in order to unpack 

the causation of dysfunctional dreaming. As each sleep stage is characterized by their own 

functions and properties.  

Works Cited 

Diolaiuti, F., Fantozzi, M.P.T., Di Galante, M. et al. Association of hypnotizability and deep sleep: any role for interoceptive sensibility?. Exp Brain Res 238, 1937–1943 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-020-05853-4

Konkoly, K.R., Appel, K., Chabani, E. et al. Real-time dialogue between experimenters and dreamers during REM sleep. Cell Press Journal: Current Biology, vol. 31 no. 7, 18 Feb. 2021, pp. 1417-1427. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.01.026

The Brain and Logical Thinking

How does one solve a math problem on an exam that was not in the homework? Say the problem required us to solve a simple definite integral. To solve it we would make an inference: if the antiderivative of f’(x) is this and if the fundamental theorem of calculus states this then the answer must be this. We also readily must make inferences to determine the value of a particular thing. For example, say one must make an inference to determine the worth of attending class: if I’m sick and if the probability of transmission is high then attending class is not worth it. Naturally, the ability to combine different data points and derive conclusions (i.e. inferences) from them is crucial in many other aspects of our lives beyond school.

 

So, what part of the brain enables us to make inferences? For some time now it has been known that the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is crucial for our ability to infer. Studies using model organisms have found that animals with an inactivated or damaged OFC were unable to infer the value that a thing has. But animals with an intact OFC were able to. Curiously, however, other studies have shown that animals with an inactivated or damaged OFC could determine a thing’s value by really lying on their experience (as opposed to inference). So, these results indicate that OFC enables us to infer from different pieces of information but how the OFC does so is unclear. Many of these studies used preconditioning tasks to establish that the OFC enables inferential thinking. But whether the OFC only responded to information that was associated with a value was not determined. This led Brain F. Sadacca et al. to investigate if the OFC only uses information that has been associated with a value to make inferences or if it can use any information (regardless of value) to make inferences.

 

Sadacca and his team used single-cell recording on rats to record the activity of various neurons in the OFC during a sensory preconditioning task. In the first stage of sensory preconditioning valueless (i.e. neutral) cue pairs are associated. Then one cue from each pair is associated with a reward. So, if the strong neural activity would occur during the first stage this would indicate that the OFC uses information regardless of that piece of information’s value. Sadacca found that neurons were highly active while the one cue from each pair was associated with a reward, but during the association of the neutral pairs. Thus, as Sadacca wrote, “these results support a role for OFC in representing associative structure, independent of value” (Sadacca, 2018).

 

In a review article written by Fang Wang and Thorsten Kahnt, they discuss different studies that support Sadacca’s findings and that have further expanded what is knowledge about how our brains enable us to make inferences. Like Sadacca, Wang and Kanhnt used a sensory preconditioning task one mice. They found that mice were able to predict rewards after the cue that was not associated with a value was presented, indicating that they were able to inference (as the cue was only associated with a different cue that was associated with a reward). It was also found that the neutral cue pair association came not only from the OFC but also from the hippocampus (HC). The review article mentioned an experiment that used a Pavlovian devaluation task to investigate the OFC's role in our ability to infer the value of a particular thing. It found that the circuitry between the OFC and amygdala played a crucial role in enabling this ability.

 

References

Sadacca, B. F., Wied, H. M., Lopatina, N., Saini, G. K., Nemirovsky, D., & Schoenbaum, G. (2018, March 7). Orbitofrontal neurons signal sensory associations underlying model-based inference in a sensory preconditioning task. eLife. Retrieved October 23, 2021, from https://elifesciences.org/articles/30373.

Wang, F., & Kahnt, T. (2021, March 6). Neural circuits for inference-based decision-making. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences. Retrieved October 23, 2021, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352154621000267?via%3Dihub.

High Frequency Lucid Dreaming

Dreaming has always been something that has confounded researchers and scientists. While no one really knows exactly why we dream, how we dream, and what determines what we dream, there have been many attempts to answer those questions. There are many theories yet no one knows the exact answer. One phenomenon in particular is lucid dreaming. Lucid dreaming is when a person who is sleeping and having a dream is aware that they are dreaming. Many times, they are also able to control their dreams. Most adults will have lucid dreams at least once in their lifetime. 

In a study done by Benjamin Baird et al., it was found that there is an increase in functional connectivity between the anterior prefrontal cortex and the temporoparietal association areas during frequent lucid dreaming and a decrease in functional connectivity between the left  anterior prefrontal cortex and the bilateral insula. This is particularly interesting because these regions of the brain are usually not activated while people are asleep. There were 28 participants in total from the University of Wisconsin- Madison. Those who were classified as frequent lucid dreamers reported having at least 3-4 lucid dreams per week. For each frequent lucid dreamer, there was one non-lucid dreamer.

In “Real-time dialogue between experimenters and dreamers during REM sleep,” by Karen Konkoly et al., experimenters were able to communicate with participants while they were having lucid dreams. They were able to give signals with their eyes as well as facial movements in order to answer the questions the experimenters were asking them. This study was able to demonstrate that during lucid dreaming, people are conscious enough to be able to communicate their dreams while they are still happening.

References:

Baird, B., Castelnovo, A., Gosseries, O. et al. Frequent lucid dreaming associated with increased functional connectivity between frontopolar cortex and temporoparietal association areas. Sci Rep 8, 17798 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-36190-w

Konkoly, K. R., Appel, K., Chabani, E., Mangiaruga, A., Gott, J., Mallett, R., Caughran, B., Witkowski, S., Whitmore, N. W., Mazurek, C. Y., Berent, J. B., Weber, F. D., Türker, B., Leu-Semenescu, S., Maranci, J. B., Pipa, G., Arnulf, I., Oudiette, D., Dresler, M., & Paller, K. A. (2021). Real-time dialogue between experimenters and dreamers during REM sleep. Current Biology, 31(7), 1417–1427.e6.

How Improvement in Communication While Dreaming Can Be Beneficial for Sleep Studies

    When people experience dreams, many times these people have difficulty describing their dreams once they wake up. While dreaming it is common for individuals to have fragmented or augmented dream reports due to their transition between the sleep state and wake state. In, "Real-time dialogue between experimenters and dreamers during REM sleep," Karen Konkoly et al. analyzed lucid dreaming participants and tested their ability to respond to researchers while in the dream state. Dream reports have been widely used in sleep studies to allow sleep participants to recall their dream experience but in Dr. Konkoly's research, she and her team experimented with two-way communication while participants were in the dream state. The benefits of two-way communication would allow other researchers to develop a more efficient method to get an accurate report about the experiences of individuals while they are dreaming. Dreams occur during sleep and can be expressed in many ways creating vivid and sensational experiences. During dreams, the dreamer might be experiencing movement while they are in their dream state. In the article, "Modulating dream experience: Noninvasive brain stimulation over the sensorimotor cortex reduces dream movement," by Valdas Noreika et al. they analyzed how the sensorimotor cortex affects bodily experiences and movement while dreaming. By mapping out the sensorimotor cortex, these reachers attempted to locate brain regions associated with movements that participants executed while they were dreaming. These researchers used a questionnaire for participants to recall their dreams once they were awakened. Konkoly et al. sleep study looked for effective methods to communicate with individuals while dreaming which could be beneficial for Noreika et al.'s study to allow participants to communicate in a more effective way to better express and relay the participants' dream experience.

    In the study done by  Konkoly and her colleagues, participants were asked to perform lucid dreams allowing participants to be aware of their dreams and be able to respond to the researcher's questions.  Some participants were able to respond to these researchers with rapid eye movement cues and facial muscle contractions. Questions including yes/no questions and mathematical computations were asked to participants. Some of these participants were then able to respond to questions that were asked while they were dreaming which supports the idea that this form of communication in real-time might be beneficial to other sleep studies. In this study, Konkoly et al. used dream reports so that the participants could express how the researcher's questions were perceived in the participant's dreams. This study tests a relatively new method of communication between participants and researchers in sleep studies. This research can be further developed by looking out other ways for participants to communicate while dreaming that are less exerting and easy to maneuver. At the end of Konkoly's talk, she suggested future investigation in two-way communication with participants using sniff signals to respond. This is an innovative idea that can be studied in the future that is simple and less demanding on participants. The advancements of methods that allow participants in a sleep study to communicate in their dreams are interesting and can potentially improve sleep study research data in the future.

    The article, "Modulating dream experience: Noninvasive brain stimulation over the sensorimotor cortex reduces dream movement," by Valdas Noreika et al. uses noninvasive techniques including tDCS to measure the effects that the sensorimotor complex has related to movements during REM sleep. Previous research suggested that there are high levels of activity in the motor cortex during REM sleep (Noreika 2020). During REM sleep participants endured stimulation of either tDCS or sham stimulation, as a control, in their sensorimotor complex, then was waken up by researchers and asked to complete a BED questionnaire to respond to their dreams. In Noreika et al. study choosing between a free dream report and a questionnaire-based response method for sleep study participants, proved to be problematic. Modulatory effects of tDCS in this study relating to the decrease in repetitive movements were reported in questionnaire responses but not in free dream reports; indicating the difficulty for participants to recall their dreams through the free dream report method. Noreika et al. talked about previous research and how free dream reports on emotions have been shown to be ineffective for participants to recall their dream in excessive detail and biased for participants to recall more positive emotions versus negative emotions. There are also disadvantages with questionnaires overgeneralizing due to participants rating the comprehensive traits of the dreams instead of detailing their dream sequentially through free dream reports. These researchers face difficulty in determining which methods should participants use to recall their dreams. A real-time method of communication would be beneficial to these researchers so that they could improve accuracy in dream reports. Using Konkoly et al.'s research with facial muscle contraction and rapid eye movement response during REM sleep, Noreika et al. would be able to communicate with their participants in real-time while they were dreaming even when the sensorimotor cortex is stimulated by tDCS. This method would have improved their results because it would have allowed participants to express their dream in more detail and with more reliability.

    In both studies, it is apparent that improvement in participants' recollection of their dream experiences would be beneficial in data collection in sleep studies. Konkoly et al. research are useful for creating innovative ways for sleep study participants to communicate their dreams. This research can lead to an increase in methods that researchers could use to create a more efficient and effective way for people to express their dreams. Due to the hardships of remembering dreams once people wake up, this makes it difficult for researchers to get a reliable account of their participant's dreams. In the Noreika et al. study using better methods to collect participants' dream reports would increase accuracy in their participant's feedback of their bodily movements in their dream. Sleep-study research is becoming more prominent in the science community and better methods of collecting dream reports can be helpful in improving data reliability.

                                                                        Works Cited

Konkoly, K., Appel, K., Chabani, E. et al. Real-time dialogue between experimenters and dreamers during REM sleep. Current Biology. Volume 31, Issue 7 (2021). ISSN 0960-9822. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.01.026.

Noreika, V., Windt, J.M., Kern, M. et al. Modulating dream experience: Noninvasive brain stimulation over the sensorimotor cortex reduces dream movement. Sci Rep 10, 6735 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-63479-6

Inducing Lucid Dreaming

    Research on dreaming has been held back by a lack of communication between dreamers and researchers. Previous scientific investigations have expressed that there is a delay in dreaming and waking up to report on the dream due to the change in state. In the article “Real-time dialogue between experimenters and dreamers during REM sleep”, Konkoly et al. overcame this problem by successfully establishing two-way real time communication during lucid dreaming. In the experiment, volunteers in REM sleep- the sleep stage where dreaming occurs- perceived the questions asked by the experimenters and answered them. The study also commented that regardless of experience with lucid dreaming (some participants were those that never experienced a lucid dream while others had a few experiences and one frequently had lucid dreams because of their narcolepsy), they were able to exhibit various tasks as instructed. 
    This allows for further research into practical applications. The researchers also determined that interactive dreaming could be adapted in such a way to facilitate an individual’s objectives like “to practice a musical or athletic skill... dreaming about facts or skills one is trying to learn can correlate with enhanced performance… interactive dreaming could also be used to solve problems and promote creativity—the next moonshot ideas could be produced with an interactive method that can combine the creative advantages of dreaming with the logical advantages of wake.” (Konkoly et al., 2021). Applications also include the potential to deal with emotional trauma as described in studies related to giving those suffering from recurrent nightmares (as associated with PTSD) the opportunity to lessen the impact of their ordeals. 
    However, lucid dreaming is extremely rare and is not a phenomenon mostly controlled by will alone. For this purpose, the industry is creating applications and portable devices to induce lucid dreaming. In the article “Portable Devices to Induce Lucid Dreams—Are They Reliable?”, Mota-Rolim et al. discuss how high-tech companies are creating portable LD induction devices that are commercially available to the general public. These devices capture EEG activity for the online detection of REM sleep and “to induce lucidity, most devices provide visual, auditory, and/or tactile stimuli as sensory cues, which can become incubated into the dream content to alert dreamers that they are dreaming but without waking them up... other devices provide transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) of the frontal cortex” (Mota-Rolim et al., 2019). The study found that most devices that were launched on crowdfunding platforms were able to raise more than sufficient funding which supports the claim that the public is very much interested in LD induction technologies. 

References

Konkoly, K., Appel, K., Chabani, E., Mironov, A. Y., Mangiaruga, A., Gott, J., Mallett, R., 
    Caughran, B., Witkowski, S., Whitmore, N., Berent, J., Weber, F., Pipa, G., Türker, B., Maranci, J. B.,        Sinin, A., Dorokhov, V., Arnulf, I., Oudiette, D., Paller, K. (2021, April 12). Real-time dialogue between     experimenters and dreamers during REM sleep. ScienceDirect. Retrieved October 22, 2021, from            https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982221000592?via%3Dihub

Mota-Rolim, S. A., Pavlou, A., Nascimento, G. C., Fontenele-Araujo, J., & Ribeiro, S. (2021,
    January 1). Portable devices to induce lucid dreams-are they reliable? Frontiers. Retrieved October 23,     2021, from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2019.00428/full. 

The Importance of Circuits for Decision-Making

 

Figuring out what areas of the brain are responsible for our decision-making skills has been a question that neuroscientists have been trying to figure out. Whether it’s studying the brain region, neural networks, or circuits. Scientists Fang Wang and Thorsten Kahnt study how Neural Circuits are Used for Inference-Based Decision making. Both scientists have collaborated on a paper previously studying how behavior is basically based on direct experience versus distinct brain circuits.  In this 2020 study for the journal of neuroscience titled Targeted Simulation of Orbitofrontal Network Disrupts Decisions Based on Inferred, Not Experienced Outcomes. They primarily studied how did the orbital frontal cortex contains neural signatures, in which the activity is required for inference-based behavior in the end. In this previous article it was also concluded that activity in the orbitofrontal cortex network indeed supports decision making outcomes. The study of how neural circuits can be used for inference-based decision making is their most recent study. Compared against scientists Yanhe Li, Yu Xin, and Ning-long Xu who studied Cortical circuit mechanism for structural knowledge base flexible sensorimotor decision-making. In this blog we are going to compare the differences in techniques and methods use both research teams in their goal to figure out how decision-making is conducted through different circuits in the brain.  

The first study we are going to be discussing is Neural Circuits are Used for Inference-Based Decision making by scientists Fang Wang and Thorsten Kahnt. Unlike other papers we’ve read, this was testing a behavior and discussion the results as a review. In this review they discussed the brain regions and the networks that were involved in inference-based behavior and how it relates to decision making. They had inference-based decision making skills that were being tested. The hypothesis that they proposed was that both of the takes that were going to be studied were going to be depended on “flexible use of learned association… supported by the side of the brain areas including the orbital frontal cortex hippocampus and amygdala (Wang et al, pg. 1) They had tested two groups, the first group discussed decisions and novel situations, which lead to predicting future outcomes. The second group was teste on them having to consider cases where outcomes would change as a result of learned experience. This study was performed on rodents and nonhuman primates using “classical behavior tasks, sensory precondition and devaluation. In the second study Cortical circuit mechanism for structural knowledge base flexible sensorimotor decision-making scientists Yanhe Li, Yu Xin, and Ning-long Xu wanted to primarily investigate how task structure in the auditory cortex were used involving top-down methods within the orbital frontal cortex to influence decision making because the auditory cortex categorize different stimulus is to impact decision making. They concluded that the “cortical circuit mechanism is the underlying structure” (Li et al, pg. 1) for the overall knowledge based flexible decision-making similarly to the previous study they also used rodents as their test subjects in which they also discovered that “mice as well can perform at flexible auditory  categorization”(Li et al, pg. 2) using not only different category boundaries but also change based on structural knowledge to influence decision making. 

Both studies emphasized the different circuits that were needed for decision-making whether it was neural circuits or cortical circuit mechanisms. Both studies ultimately resulted in highlighting the importance of the the orbital frontal cortex on decision making. While in the first study it was coupled up with the hippocampus and the amygdala, it’s dead clear that the orbital frontal cortex plays the most important role as it was the main section of the brain that was used in decision-making as well in the second study. Ultimately whether it is neural circuits or cortical circuits as long as there is Circuit for the orbital frontal cortex to connect to there will be an influence on the decision-based behavior and decision making skills.

Works Cited

Liu, Yanhe, et al. “A Cortical Circuit Mechanism for Structural Knowledge-Based Flexible Sensorimotor Decision-Making.” Neuron, vol. 109, no. 12, 2021, doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2021.04.014.

Wang, Fang, and Thorsten Kahnt. “Neural Circuits for Inference-Based Decision-Making.” Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, vol. 41, 2021, pp. 10–14., doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2021.02.004.

Wang, Fang, et al. “Targeted Stimulation of an Orbitofrontal Network Disrupts Decisions Based on Inferred, Not Experienced Outcomes.” The Journal of Neuroscience, vol. 40, no. 45, 2020, pp. 8726–8733., doi:10.1523/jneurosci.1680-20.2020.

 

How Lucid Dreaming Can Help Ease Nightmares

  Nightmares are something that everyone experiences. These dreams sometimes come in different forms whether it is falling or being chased. These dreams can be triggered by multiple events. For example, patients who went to war experience nightmares about the war. Another example would be people who watch frightening movies like “The Shining”, experience nightmares as well. A way to combat this is by lucid dreams. Lucid dreams are effective in multiple areas and it has been seen in experiments. To see if a person is having a dream let alone a lucid dream the researchers use REM sleep. In the article, “Real-time dialogue between experimenters and dreamers during REM sleep”, Konkoly et al. showed how through REM sleep the researchers can communicate with the patients during lucid dreams. For example, Konkoly et al. state, “ Lucid dreams occur pre-dominantly during REM sleep and can be accompanied by eye-movement signals used to indicate that dreamers recognize that they are dreaming”(Konkoly et al.). This helps the researchers to use REM sleep to use lucid dreaming as a method of coping for people who have nightmares. In the article, “ Nightmares and their treatment”, Vanek et al. discuss that with lucid dreams they can “[adjust] the dream to their liking”(Vanek et al.) This shows that lucid dreams can be effective in helping people with nightmares because of how the researchers can ease the person. Due to the REM sleep, the researchers can tell the cues that the patient is having a rough time during their sleep so they can manipulate it to help them. Lucid dreams have been experimented on for a while but recently people are manipulating them to help people. This makes a big difference to people with PTSD because of their recurring nightmares. This helps ease their suffering. Since this research is new, there might be more research on how REM sleep and lucid dreams can help with more disorders like depression.

Konkoly, Karen R., et al. “Real-Time Dialogue between Experimenters and Dreamers during Rem Sleep.” Current Biology, Cell Press, 18 Feb. 2021, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982221000592

Vanek J;Prasko J;Ociskova M;Holubova M;Minarikova K;Kamaradova-Koncelikova D;Kantor K;Nesnidal V; “Nightmares and Their Treatment.” Neuro Endocrinology Letters, U.S. National Library of Medicine, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33185995/. 

REM Sleep in Other Species: The Key to Understanding Dreams

REM Sleep in Other Species: The Key to Understanding Dreams

        On October 5th, 2021, Dr. Karen Konkoly presented her recently-published study on “Real-time dialogue between experimenters and dreamers during REM sleep” (Konkoly et al., 2021). Konkoly explained that the goal of the study was to learn whether the possibility of real-time communication by dreamers could be achieved without “fragmentary and distorted” reports (Konkoly et al., 2021). Konkoly mentioned that dreamers often cannot accurately remember or describe dreams well once awake. In the study, dreamers were given easy mathematical or yes-no questions for “...proof of concept demonstration...” and then given more challenging questions in which answers were recorded through eye or facial movements (Konkoly et al., 2021). This experiment introduced “electrophysiological signals” to communicate dreams in real-time, a phenomenon that once wasn’t believed to be possible until studies like this one (Konkoly et al., 2021).
        Four subjects from varying countries were gathered in Konkoly’s lab to participate in this successful experiment. She explained the unique sleeping shifts of the participants and the researchers, stressing the importance of researchers being able to stay awake for the entirety of the participant’s long sleeping session. Sleep sessions would generally begin early in the morning when a REM cycle was more likely to occur. The dreaming subjects represented a diverse group of sleepers. One of the subjects had been previously diagnosed with narcolepsy and another reported having only had two lucid dreams in their whole life (Konkoly et al., 2021). It’s interesting to consider the possibility of completely different results that the study may have produced had the participants reported never experiencing lucid dreams or reported experiencing lucid dreams frequently. Is it possible that the hearing abilities of the participants also factored into their lucid dreaming experiences? Could an experiment with children compared to one with senior citizens produce entirely different results considering that senior citizens tend to have more difficulty hearing?
        Konkoly reported that there were a total of four research groups that each utilized slightly different protocols (Konkoly et al., 2021). Since the study was rather complicated, is it possible that having multiple research groups could have caused potential discrepancies in the results? Regardless, the purpose of the study was to better understand if dreamers could experience lucid dreaming and communicate their dreams in real-time - and this was achieved. Any discrepancy in the data would likely not affect the current study, but possibly more in-depth studies later down the line. Konkoly also reported that dreamers later explained that signals were received “...as if coming from outside the dream or superimposed over the dream” (Konkoly et al., 2021). Since the interpretation of signals will differ for all subjects and hinge on their hearing ability and past psychological conditioning, the volume of a researcher’s voice might affect the way a signal is interpreted. A participant with good hearing may be better equipped to interpret the researcher’s voice and thus respond with more accurate non-verbal responses. Konkoly’s research reveals that REM sleep is not only a common occurrence that opens many doors for learning more about the purpose of dreams and brain functions but can be explored further to allow lucid dreaming and real-time communication with dreamers. But can this be studied in all species? Is REM sleep a necessity for other animals? Can lucid dreaming and real-time communication be achieved with other species if they have a general understanding of animal-to-human communication?
        In the Nature Editorial “Fur seals can go weeks without REM sleep”, writer Alex Fox describes that northern fur seals “can forgo rapid eye movement sleep for up to two weeks while at sea with no visible hardship” (Fox, 2018). It is well known that REM sleep is the “brain’s most active sleep phase” and is “associated with learning and processing memories” (Fox, 2018). However, new research suggests that REM sleep also plays a major role in “regulating brain temperature” according to “Current Biology” (Fox, 2018). It was reported that northern fur seals generally experience “little to no REM sleep” when in water but didn’t seem to be “deprived” of it at all (Fox, 2018).
        Research has shown that “the brain is warmer” during REM sleep or “when an animal is awake”, pointing to the theory that the “REM phase kicks in to keep the seals' brain from getting too cold” when sleeping in the water since half of a seal’s brain is awake and warm when in water (Fox, 2018). Since fur seals do not experience this on land, they have intermittent cycles of non-REM and REM sleep consistently. This theory is still being debated, as it’s possible that “the loss of REM sleep could have negative effects that aren’t easily noticed” in this species” and/or “tasks performed during REM sleep could be taken care of during non-REM phases” (Fox, 2018). This study is unique in that it focuses on fur seals specifically and gives an in-depth hypothesis for why fur seals may not need REM sleep the same way humans do.

         Konkoly’s mission was to establish real-time communication with humans during dreams to better understand what dreams humans have and possibly why they have them. Could the REM cycle habits of fur seals help unlock the secrets behind REM sleep and the functions involved in REM cycles? Could REM sleep truly be tied to brain temperature? Is it connected to brain temperature regulation in humans, too? How do REM sleep needs and capability differ across species and could Konkoly’s lab repeat similar studies to understand dreams during REM sleep for animals other than humans? REM sleep experiments testing the habits of numerous species could be the key to understanding why animals dream - a question that has plagued many researchers since Sigmund Freud’s initial theory about dreams as repressed desires.

References 

Fox, A. (2018, June 7). Fur seals can go weeks without REM sleep. Nature Editorial. Retrieved October 22, 2021, from https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05353-0?error=cookies_not_supported&code=500850cf-de3c-4d0f-8b94-bad2ab41458f

Konkoly, K., Appel, K., Chabani, E., Mironov, A. Y., Mangiaruga, A., Gott, J., Mallett, R., Caughran, B., Witkowski, S., Whitmore, N., Berent, J., Weber, F., Pipa, G., Türker, B., Maranci, J. B., Sinin, A., Dorokhov, V., Arnulf, I., Oudiette, D., Paller, K. (2021, April 12). Real-time dialogue between experimenters and dreamers during REM sleep. ScienceDirect. Retrieved October 22, 2021, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982221000592?via%3Dihub

Clinical Applications of Lucid Dreaming and REM Sleep

    The neuropsychology behind dreaming consists of many unknown influences and constructs that have sparked the interest of contemporary researchers. When we think about dreaming, we often think of make-believe scenarios and stories of our unleashed imaginations. Lucid dreaming, however, is a particular type of dreaming in which a person is consciously aware of their presence in the dream. This is mainly attributed to rapid eye-movement (REM), which is a sleep stage associated with increased brain activity and deep relaxation. REM sleep and lucid dreaming have been shown to allow for the possibility of two-way communication and interaction while asleep. This particular phenomenon is especially difficult to study because of the difficulty stimulating lucid dreams, and determining their validity. However, researchers have been able to make groundbreaking insights on the ability to induce lucid dreaming and the possible implications it may have. 

    Associations between REM sleep and real-time communication during lucid dreaming were researched by Konkoly et al. in their REM sleep study. Researchers induced REM sleep in participants who ranged in their prior experience with lucid dreaming, as well as patients with narcolepsy. In this study, researchers found that two-way communication during REM sleep is evident in participants' ability to compute mathematical operations, answer yes-or-no questions, or discriminate visual stimuli (Konkoly et al.). Successful communication during lucid dreaming is evidence of higher level neural activation, and the fine line between the outside world and our consciousness. 

    Though the possible implications of lucid dreaming can be revolutionary, there is an experimental limitation regarding the induction of lucidity. Konkoly et al. discuss many researchers attempts to stimulating lucidity, such as electrical and magnetic cortical stimulation and various auditory cues. In a research article by LaBerge et al., the researchers study the possibility of using acetylcholinesterase inhibition (AChEI) for cortical stimulation in attempts to increase the frequency of lucid dreaming. This particular experiment used varying doses of the AChEI, galantamine, and mnemonic induction of lucid dreams to measure participants' dream recall and cognitive clarity (LaBerge et al.). The induction of lucidity is helpful in increasing one's awareness during REM sleep, however, its implications regarding degenerative diseases such as Alzheimers and Dementia are astounding. Lucidity, in terms of these conditions, is the phenomenon in which a patient with a degenerative memory condition suddenly becomes alert and clear-headed (Chan). Consequently enough, the AChEI, galantamine, is a drug used to treat the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. 

    There are a plethora of limitations in truly understanding the implicit nature of the brain, but increasing interest in these constructs are pushing us in the right direction. Taking a concept such as dreaming, and breaking it down to a molecular level of understanding helps researchers draw out clinical implications. The findings regarding lucid dreaming and REM sleep and their application to degenerative diseases can also be further studied to be able to extend out to clinical treatments for varying conditions. 

References:

Chan, Noreen. “Before the Light Fades: Terminal Lucidity and Other End-of-Life Experiences.” Medicine.nus.edu.sg, https://medicine.nus.edu.sg/newsletters/issue34/insights/before-the-light-fades-terminal-lucidity-and-other-end-of-life-experiences/. 

Konkoly, K. R., Appel, K., Chabani, E., Oudiette, D., Dresler, M., & Paller, K. A. (2021, 2 18). Real-time dialogue between experimenters and dreamers during REM sleep. Current Biology, 31(7), 1417-1427. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.01.026 

LaBerge, S., LaMarca, K., & Baird, B. (2018). Pre-sleep treatment with galantamine stimulates lucid dreaming: A double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study. PLoS ONE, 13(8), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0201246

The Cultivation of Lucid Dreams and Their Purpose

 

Within Neuroscience and Psychology and overall, when studying the brain, studies regarding sleep and the wave patterns within it are highly discussed. Within the subject of sleep, dreams come to the forefront. The most illusive subject of dream studies is the subject of lucid dreams. Lucid dreams are distinctly different than normal dreams because within normal dreams, the dreamer has no control over their dreams and cannot shape any aspect of the dream. Whereas within lucid dreams, the dreamer becomes aware that they are dreaming therefore making the dreamer able to control multiple aspects of the dream controllable such as characters, narrative and even environment. Within Real-time dialogue between experimenters and dreamers during REM sleep by Karen R. Konkoly, Kristoffer Appel, Emma Chanabi, …, Delphine Oudiette, Martin Dresler, Ken A. Paller, the researchers aim to further discuss the obscurities of lucid dreams.

Dr. Karen Konkoly of Northwestern University, Evanston IL whose research interests most importantly include “how dreams are generated and what functions they may serve” gave a presentation in which she spoke on her work with dreams, more specifically lucid dreams, and their obscurities. Within the paper presented, the researchers aimed to see how far the participants could manipulate the outcome of their dream. The outcome of this study showed that participants were seen to be able to answer and complete tasks within their lucid dreams as instructed. Participants were able to perform veridical perceptual analysis of novel information, computing, and replying in tandem. Furthermore, their actions also elicited specific and unique responses from muscles and eye movements amongst the individuals. The reason this study is extremely unique and developmental to the study of lucid dreams and dreaming is because, instead of the dreamers relaying what they were told to do and perhaps executed during their dream as they were waking up, the researchers aimed to obtain evidence that it was possible to interview and question the dreamers while they were still during REM.

Similarly, in Is It a Good Idea to Cultivate Lucid Dreaming? By Raphael Vallat and Perrine Marie Ruby speaks about lucid dreaming. Within this article it speaks on the possible risks of lucid dreaming since it is seen as a desirable experience almost like a real life “virtual reality.” The first point the authors pose is that inducing lucid dreaming or LD can disrupt sleep causing a lack of consistent sleep cycle. One technique blatantly requires participants wake up and fall back asleep disrupting the sleep cycle, fittingly named “Wake-up-back-to-Bed.” The issue with interrupting sleep is that it causes fragmentation in sleep, which then modifies the architecture overall and decreases the duration. The other method necessitates the use of stimuli delivery to then trigger lucidity. Much like in the first article REM sleep was studied in tandem with lucid dreaming seeing which regions of the brain were activated and deactivated which include the bilateral precuneus, parietal lobules, and prefrontal and occipital-temporal cortices (Dresler et. al., 2012). These regions are important within both studies because they play key roles in higher cognitive functions which specifically include self-awareness and executive functions. These functions are vital since they account for the self-awareness, alertness, and voluntary control within lucid dreams.

 These two articles combined can be used to pose the question why is lucid dreaming a possibility and does it serve any broader purpose? If lucid dreaming is in any terms beneficial, why does eliciting it require a significant amount of effort, external stimuli, and even disrupting the sleep cycle. Another question is why physical actions are displayed during lucid dreaming and whether they serve any purpose, or whether they are just a product of an active brain during REM and lucid dreams.

 

 

References

Konkoly, Karen, et al. “Real-Time Dialogue between Experimenters and Dreamers During Rem Sleep.” SSRN Electronic Journal, 2020. Crossref, doi:10.2139/ssrn.3606772.

Vallat, Raphael, and Perrine Marie Ruby. “Is It a Good Idea to Cultivate Lucid Dreaming?” Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 10, 2019. Crossref, doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02585.