PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY Vol. 21, No.

4
Copyright 1984 by The Society for Psychophysiological Research, Inc. Printed in U.S.A.

Lucid, Prelucid, and Nonlucid Dreams Related to the

Amount of EEG Alpha Activity during REM Sleep
PAUL D . TYSON, ROBERT D . OGILVIE, AND HARRY T . HUNT
Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario

ABSTRACT
Alpha activity during REM sleep without signs of awakening can discriminate hetween the hlind
classification of prelucid, lucid, and nonlucid dreams. Ten good dream recallers were aroused after
relatively high or low amplitude REM alpha. The spectral and temporal characteristics of EEG
alpha within each REM period were associated with lucidity and other content dimensions. Each
type of dream had a reasonably distinct pattern of REM alpha. High amplitude alpha was found to
he associated with prelucid dreams and hizarre content, which is consistent with theories of waking
alpha activity and the hypothesis that lucidity sometimes emerges from prelucid experiences. The
data are also consistent with the idea that lucidity is a viahle dream content dimension, and
interpreted in terms of systems theory imply that training which emphasizes dream content control
may constrain the potential information integration function of lucid dreams.
DESCRIPTORS: Lucid dreams, REM sleep, EEG alpha. Sleep, Dream content. Spectral
analysis. Systems theory.

Since the publication of Aserinsky and Kleit-
man's (1953) suggestion that dreams occur during
periods of rapid, conjugate eye movements (REM),
many investigators have attempted to find phys-
iological correlates of dream content (Arkin, An-
trobus, & EUman, 1978; Foulkes, 1978; Ogilvie,
Hunt,Sawacki,&Samahalskyi, 1982a; Hunt, 1982).
Lucidity is one dimension of dream content which
has been distinguished by a reported realization that
one is dreaming in the midst of the dream and with-
out awakening from sleep (Green, 1968). Confir-
mation that lucid reports occur most frequently
within the REM stage and are not artifacts of awak-
ening from sleep has been found in several labo-
ratory studies (Ogilvie, Hunt, Sawicki, & Me-
Gowan, 1978; LaBerge, 1980, 1981; Heame, 1981;
Ogilvie, Hunt, Tyson, Lucescu, & Jenkins, 1982b).
Ogilvie et al. (1978,1982b) suggested an association
between lucid reports and high amplitude EEG al-
pha activity occurring during REM sleep, which is
paradoxical because standardized sleep stage scor-
ing systems define a minimum of 10 s of alpha
activity within a 20-s epoch as wakefulness (Recht-
Supported by Natural Sciences and Engineering Re- ^^ Prelucid experiences which frequently precede
search Council of Canada #A6354 to R.D.O.
Address requests for reprints to: Paul D. Tyson, De- irrational, or incongruous with waking life can lead
partment of Psychology, Brock University, St. Catharines, to prelucid dreams in which the person reports de-
Ontario, Canada L2S 3A1.
schaffen & Kales, 1968). Studies attempting to de-
fine an awakening from sleep have frequently re-
corded abundant alpha activity during REM with-
out signs of awakening, although button-pressing
and increased EMG levels in close association with
alpha activity may satisfactorily define an awak-
ening (Goodenough, Shapiro, Holden, & Stein-
schriber, 1959; Williams, Morlock, & Morlock, 1966;
Anch, Salamy, McCoy, & Somerset, 1982; Moffitt
et al., 1982). The amount of alpha activity within
REM has been correlated (.75) with waking alpha
(Johnson, Lubin, Naitoh, Nute, & Austin, 1969)
although REM alpha responds differently to stim-
ulation than waking alpha (Johnson, 1970). The
present study focused on whether the amount of
alpha activity during REM sleep, without signs of
an awakening, was associated with reports of lucid-
ity within the dream.
The relationship between lucidity and REM al-
pha has not been found by the other investigators
who have concentrated on dreams which were un-
ambiguously lucid using a small number of trained,
frequent lucid dreamers (LaBerge, 1980, 1981;
Heame, 1981). In addition to deliberate attempts
to dream lucidly. Green (1968) describes a number
^^cid dreams. Dreams that are highly emotional.
veloping a critical attitude toward the dream by
442
July, 1984 Dream Lucidity Related to Alpha Activity 443
questioning the apparent reality ofthe dream. The and lucid dreams. REM periods in the preliminary
prelucid dream's critical attitude may not develop report were divided into high and low amplitude
into reports of the simultaneous realization and alpha arousals based upon subjective estimates of
continuous participation typical ofthe lucid dream the relative amount of filtered alpha 20 or 30 s pre-
and lucid dreams may not all evolve from prelucid ceding the arousal. The subjective amplitude cri-
experiences. The hypothesized difference between terion for low and high alpha was consistent within
deliberate training to produce lucid dreams and lu- subjects, but varied considerably among subjects as
cidity that emerges from prelucid experiences may the Ogilvie et al. (1982b) EEG records clearly dem-
account for the failure to confirm the Ogilvie et al. onstrate. The significant differences between high
(1978,1982b) relationship between REM alpha and and low alpha arousals could be further refined by
the emergence of lucid dreams. calculating the actual mean alpha amplitude pre-
The content of lucid dreams emerging from pre- ceding each arousal. By using an objective measure
lucid experiences may be different from deliberate of alpha amplitude, differences in the amplitude
training to produce lucid dreams. LaBerge (1980, criterion among subjects can be analyzed and the
1981) describes the most salient features of lucid amplitude relative to the individual's variability can
dream^s with trained dreamers as active control of be analyzed by converting the amplitude criterion
imagery, emotional detachment, and critical ra- into standard deviation units from each individu-
tionalitytypical of left hemispheric dominance, in al's average REM alpha. In the preliminary report
agreement with Hearne's (1981) observations and the spectral analysis of four complete REM periods
Cohen's (1979) theorizing. Lucid dreams emerging for one subject showed distinct temporal differences
from prelucid experiences with untrained dreamers in EEG activity during the REM period which could
would be expected to report less control, more emo- be included in the analysis. The present report ana-
tionality, and considerably more bizarre elements. lyzed the Ogilvie et al. (1982b) raw EEG data using
Ogilvie et al. (1982b), comparing nonlucid, prelu- spectral analysis to examine the degree to which
cid, and lucid dreams using blind scoring of dream REM alpha and content variates discriminate be-
content (Hunt, 1982), found that prelucid dreams tween nonlucid, prelucid, and lucid dreams.
were the most bizarre (clouded and hallucinatory),
nonlucid dreams were mundane and realistic, and Method
lucid dreams closer to the realism of nonlucid
dreams and exhibiting the most control, consistent Subjects
with Green (1968) and Hoffman and McCarley Five males and 5 females, aged 19-31, were selected
(1980). Hunt (1982) describes clouding as reports on the bases of recalling 5 or more dreams per week
of unexplained scene changes and cognitive disor- and having clear alpha activity. Five had previously
ganizations of reasoning and memorya confu- slept in the lab, were good dream recallers following
sional dimension; whereas hallucinosis consists of experimental arousals, and displayed moderate
perceptual content and form anomaliesusually in amounts of alpha during REM periods. The other sub-
the visual modality. In this study all lucid dreams jects were screened for dream recall and displayed
included one or more prelucid episodes, which was moderate amounts of waking alpha during relaxed, eyes
closed EEG baselines. All volunteers had reported hav-
consistent with the Ogilvie et al. (1982b) view that ing lucid dreams at least occasionally; frequencies
lucidity frequently emerged from prelucid experi- ranged from one or two lucid dreams in several sub-
ences in untrained dreamers. jects to near nightly lucid episodes reported by one
There are at least two convergent approaches participant. More typically, subjects reported recalling
which can be used to examine the alpha-lucidity several lucid dreams per year. Two subjects were ex-
hypothesis: one used in the preliminary report made perienced meditators and one of the meditators was
systematic observations of dream content by arous- familiar with biofeedback techniques.
ing subjects when their REM alpha levels were par- Apparatus
ticularly high or low. The other approach reported
in the present paper involves the computer analysis A Nihon-Kohden Model ME-175E EEG machine
of the EEG activity preceding each arousal. Com- was used to record 16 channels of physiological in-
formation; details of the monitoring scheme and sub-
puter analysis ofthe Ogilvie et al. (1982b) experi- ject records have been published (Ogilvie et al., 1982b).
ment will refine the testing ofthe alpha-lucidity hy- EEG recorded from the right central derivation (C4)
pothesis by quantifying the spectral and temporal and right mastoid (Aj) was filtered for alpha (8-13 Hz)
aspects of the EEG, standardizing the individual's by a Narco biofeedback system for the high and low
alpha amplitude criterion for an arousal, and ana- alpha arousals, and the raw EEG channels were re-
lyzing the degree to which REM alpha and content corded on an 8-channel Vetter FM tape recorder with
variables discriminate between nonlucid, prelucid. flutter compensator for the computer analysis.
444 Tyson, Ogilvie, and Hunt
Design and Controls
All subjects were required to spend one adaptation
night and one or two arousal nights in the sleep lab-
oratory. No arousals were made on the adaptation night,
but 5 subjects, randomly selected from the 10 volun-
teers, were given four 5-min alpha feedback trials on
the adaptation and arousal nights before going to sleep.
The alpha training was not very effective for two peo-
ple who lapsed into Stage 2 sleep during the sessions.
The adaptation night was used to set a within-subject
criterion for high and low alpha REM arousals using
the filtered alpha channel. The absolute alpha ampli-
tude criterion varied among subjects, but was rela-
tively consistent within subjects for all arousals.
On the arousal nights, subjects were told that they
would be awakened during REM sleep 4 times and
were made familiar with the questionnaire, but were
completely blind to the type of arousal, to control for
suggestibility and demand characteristics. The order
of arousals was also randomized by tossing a coin to
determine whether a given arousal was to be made
during high or low alpha activity. To ensure that lucid
reports were not artifacts of awakening from REM sleep,
the arousal criterion required a minimum of 5 min in
stage REM, a minimum of 20 s above or below the
alpha criterion, and no movement artifacts, elevations
of EMG, eyeblinks, abrupt changes in heart rate or
respiratory activity, or other discontinuities during
REM. A careful examination of the sleep records after
the experiment was used to verify the arousal criterion
for each arousal and led to the rejection of two arousals
as ambiguous.
Following each arousal, the experimenter read a list
of 8 questions (Ogilvie et al. 1982b) to eliminate the
possibility of different demand characteristics biasing
the interrogation (Ome, 1962). The taped arousal in-
terviews were coded, transcribed blind, and given to
HTH for scoring. HTH was blind to the code and had
not been involved in the laboratory proceedings. Ini-
tially, HTH was given only the narrative protocols to
rate for dream content and bizarreness using the scor-
ing methods developed and reliability tested on a sam-
ple of 800 dreams by Hunt (1982). The lucidity ratings
(Ogilvie et al., 1982b) were obtained during a second
examination of the recoded, transcribed answers to
standardized lucidity, prelucidity, and control ques-
tions consistent with Green's (1968) typology. Positive
answers to the questions were subdivided in terms of
whether a brief momentary awareness was being de-
scribed, an awareness that lasted through a definite
narrative sequence (rated beginning, middle, or end),
or an awareness roughly continuous throughout the
entire dream. Details of the lucidity scale and proce-
dures have been previously published (Ogilvie et al.,
1982b).
Data Analysis
In order to quantify the spectral distribution of the
EEG, the raw C4-A2 channel recorded on the FM tape
recorder was first passed through active bandpass fil-
ters between 1 and 40 Hz and decomposed into fre-
Vol. 21, No. 4
quency components by power spectral analysis (Fast
Fourier Transform). The raw EEG was transformed
using a modified Bruker TI/II program which allowed
magnitude integration within two alpha frequency
bands (8-10.5 Hz and 10.5-13 Hz) and calculation of
the mean integrated amplitude in microvolts (Tyson,
1982a). The absolute spectral power of the raw EEG
was transformed at a sample rate twice the highest
frequency (34 Hz) in consecutive 30-s epochs and was
calibrated into microvolts with a 50 ^V, 10 Hz sine
wave recorded at the beginning of each session.
The temporal parameters within each REM period
were summarized in terms of 4 time intervals: 0-.5
min, .5-2 min, 2-5 min before the arousal, and 5 min
to the beginning of the REM period, for both the higher
frequency alpha (HFA) and lower frequency alpha
(LFA). The first time interval was the HFA and LFA
mean integrated amplitude for the 30-s epoch before
the arousal and corresponds to the Ogilvie et al. (1982b)
arousal criterion. The 3 remaining time intervals were
arbitrarily defined without inspection of the data as
the average of epochs in progressively longer periods;
for example, the second time interval averaged three
30-s epochs between .5-2 min and the third interval
averaged 6 epochs. Since the criterion alpha amplitude
for an arousal in this experiment was relative to the
within-subject variability, the HFA and LFA ampli-
tudes for each epoch were also converted into standard
deviation units from each individual's HFA and LFA
means and standard deviations using the total number
of 30-s epochs of all REM periods which ranged from
65 epochs to 160 epochs in different subjects. The 30-
s epoch before the arousal was described as HFA and
LFA average amplitude and standardized amplitude.
In addition to averaging the standard deviations for
the 3 remaining time intervals, two deviation mea-
sures of above average alpha were calculated since pre-
vious research hypothesized a relationship between high
alpha during REM and lucidity (Ogilvie et al., 1978,
1982b). The first measure, positive deviation, averaged
the deviations above the mean and the second measure
found the one peak deviation for each of the 3 re-
maining time intervals. These 3 time intervals were
therefore described by four measures: average ampli-
tude, standardized amplitude, positive deviation, and
peak deviation.
Results
An examination of the EEG 30 s before the
arousal in terms of alpha amplitude and standard-
ized amplitude showed a clear relationship between
high alpha activity and prelucid dreams (Table 1).
After removing the two ambiguous dreams, the 38
dreams classified as lucid, prelucid, or nonlucid were
analyzed using an unequal n analysis of variance
adjusting the error term degrees of freedom for re-
peated measures. The lower frequency alpha (LFA)
and higher frequency alpha (HFA) mean ampli-
tudes (LFA: F(2/32) - 5.57, p<.OI; HFA: i^(2/32)
= 4.76, p<.025) and standardized amplitudes (LFA:
July, 1984 Dream Lucidity Related to Alpha Activity 445
Table 1
Mean alpha activity 30 seconds before the arousal and at the beginning ofthe REM period

Average Amplitude Standardized1 Amplitude Positive Deviation Peak Deviation

Dream Type LFA HFA LFA HFA LFA HFA LFA HFA

30 Seconds Before Arousal

Nonlucid 19.52 18,04 ,03 ,01

Prelucid 31,22 26,68 1,68 1,94
Lucid 19,24 16,22 ,38 ,24
(jX.025) (jX.025) (p<.OOl)

Beginning of REM Period

Nonlucid 18,24 17,18 -,11 -,01 ,48 ,58 ,52 ,54

Prelucid 21,03 17,77 ,23 ,24 ,91 ,92 1,90 1,61
Lucid 21,16 17,33 ,51 ,38 ,93 ,84 2,07 1,82
ip=.912) (p<.025) (P<.Q5)

F(2/32) = 4.49, p<.025; HFA: F{2/32) = 8.04,
p<.005) were significantly different and the means
in Table 1 indicated that prelucid dreams were the
highest in alpha amplitude and most deviant rel-
ative to each subject's mean REM amplitude. In
order to analyze the degree to which alpha activity
discriminated between nonlucid, prelucid, and lu-
cid dreams, the 7^(1/32) ratios and significance lev-
els were calculated between pairs of dream types
(Table 2). Considering only the last 30-s spectral
plot, which Ogilvie et al. (1982b) used as the cri-
terion for an arousal, illustrates (Table 2) that high
amplitude alpha which deviated considerably from
an individual's mean was a good indicator of a pre-
lucid dream (Figure 1, A & C; Figure 2), but low
amplitude alpha preceding the arousal indicated
either a nonlucid (Figure 1, D & E) or a lucid dream
(Figure 1, B & F).
Ogilvie et al. (1982b) hypothesized a linear re-
lationship between the amount of alpha activity and
lucidity, such that low amplitude alpha would co-
exist with nonlucid reports, moderate alpha with
prelucid or brief lucid episodes, and high alpha with
lucidity throughout the dream. The above associ-
ation of prelucidity with high alpha led to reorder-
ing the earlier lucidity scale (Ogilvie et al., 1982b),
so that prelucid ratings were weighted more heavily
than lucid ratings. The revised lucidity ratings for
the 38 dreams were correlated, correcting the de-
grees of freedom for repeated measures {df = 32),
with alpha amplitude 30 s before the arousal (LFA:
r = .42, p<.025; HFA: r = .40, p<.025) and stand-
ardized amplitude (LFA: r = .43, p<.025; HFA: r
= .51, ;7<.OO5). Adding the dream control dimen-
sion to the revised lucidity scale increased the cor-
relations only slightly for alpha amplitude (LFA: r
= .45, p<.Ol, HFA: r = .40, p<.025) and stand-
ardized amplitude (LFA: r = .45, p<.01; HFA: r
= .53, p<.005).
The two earlier time periods between .5-2 min
and 2-5 min before the arousal were poor discrim-
inators of nonlucid, lucid, and prelucid dreams. No
significant differences were found in either time in-
terval for alpha amplitude, standardized amplitude,
positive deviation, or peak deviation. Correlations
of these time intervals with the revised lucidity scales
also were nonsignificant with the exception of the
.5-2 min period for HFA positive deviation (r =
.35, p<.05) and peak deviation (r = .35, p<.05),
and adding the control dimension to the lucidity
scale slightly reduced these correlations.
The alpha activity at the beginning ofthe dream
made it possible to differentiate nonlucid from lucid
dreams, both of which ended with relatively low

Table 2
Average REM alpha activity used to discriminate between dream types

F Values (p Values in Parentheses)

Before Arousal HFA REM Beginning LFA Discriminant Scores

Standardized Amplitude Positive Deviation Combined HFA & LFA
(df= 1/32)

Dream Type Nonlucid Prelucid Nonlucid Prelucid Nonlucid Prelucid

Prelucid 13,48 (p<,001) 6,75 (p<.025) 10,97 {p<.0Ol)

Lucid 0,17 (p=,680) 8,31 6,71 (jX.025) 0,01 (p=.9O4) 3.50{p<.05 ) 4,05 (p<.025)
446 Tyson, Ogilvie, and Hunt Vol. 21. No. 4
(A)CR REM 5 PRELUCID (B)NN REM 4 LUCID

12
11

10
9

8
7 ;v^^2-^\^AAA/^v2^^^

13 20 25 30 1 13 20 25

E (C) RR REM 2 PRELUCID (D) JD REM 3 NONLUCID

13 20 25
(E)CR REM3 NONLUCID

12
(F) RR REM5 LUCID
11

10
9
8
7
6

5
4
3
2

13 20 25 30 1 13 20 25 30

Frequoncy (Hz) Frequency (Hz)

Figure 1. Power spectral analysis (FFT) of 6 complete REM periods plotted in consecutive 30-s epochs begiiming
at REM onset and ending 30 s preceding the arousal. Two examples of prelucid (A & C), ludd (B & F), and nonlucid
(D & E) dreams illustrate the different patterns of REM alpha (8-13 Hz) used to discriminate dream types.
July. 1984 Dream Lucidity Related to Alpha Activity 447
(A) RR REM 3 PRELUCID (B)JS REM4 PRELUCID

21

20

19 19

18 18 ^

17 17

16 16

15 15

14 14

f
o 12

I
a

I,
ICD

5 7

13 20 25 30 1 13 20 25 30
Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz)

Figure 2. Power spectral analysis (FFT) of 2 complete REM periods plotted in consecutive 30-s epochs beginning
at REM onset and ending 30 s preceding the arousal. Two examples of prelucid dreams illustrate the waxing and
waning of REM alpha (8-13 Hz) during the REM period.

levels of alpha activity 30 s preceding the arousal
(Table 1). No significant differences in alpha am-
plitude were found at the beginning of the three
types of dreams; however, the LFA standardized
amplitude approached significance (LFA: i^2/32)
= 3.30, p = .054), which suggested that lower alpha
deviations at the beginning of the dream might be
associated with nonlucidity at the time of the
arousal, whereas both lucid and prelucid dreams
had hi^er alpha at the beginning. The significant
results in Table 1 for LFA positive deviation (LFA:
F(2/32) = 4.78, ;7<.O25) and peak deviation (LFA:
F{2/32) = 4.55, p<.025; HFA: F{2/32) = 3.35,
P<.05) reinforced this association. The significant
diiSerences between pairs of dream types in Table
2 showed that low average amounts of alpha below
an individual's mean indicate nonlucidity (Figure
1, D & E), but high deviations at dream onset may
indicate either a prelucid (Figure 1, A & C; Figure
2) or lucid dream (Figure 1, B & F).
The classification of the three dream types com-
bining the most significant alpha measures at the
beginning and end of the REM period called for a
direct discriminant analysis (Tabachnick & Fidell,
1983). The two alpha measures were combined by
weighting each score to maximize the separation of
the groups and the first discriminant function was
significant (Wilks' Lambda = .548, x^ = 20.75,
p<.OOl). The differences between pairs of dream
types by a linear combination of HFA standardized
amplitude 30 s preceding the arousal and LFA pos-
itive deviation at the beginning of the REM period
are displayed in Table 2. The three types of dreams
were empirically distinct from each other, and as
expected, the most significant difference was be-
tween nonlucid and prelucid dreams. The dreams
448 Tyson, Ogilvie, and Hunt
with the highest probability of being classified as
nonlucid had relatively low levels of alpha activity
at the end and beginning of the REM period, and
the dreams classified as prelucid had relatively high
levels at the end and beginning. As REM alpha lev-
els became less extreme the probability of correct
classification was reduced; therefore lucid dreams
classified by moderately low levels of alpha at the
end and moderately high levels at the beginning
were the most difficult dream type to discriminate.
Overall the discriminant score for each dream cor-
rectly classified 71% of the dreams using the begin-
ning and end of the REM period.
Blind scoring of dream content found the three
types of dreams significantly different on both di-
mensions of bizarreness (Clouding: F(2/32) = 4.98,
p<.025; Hallucinosis: Fi2/32) = 3.61, p<.05), but
not significantly different in control or self-rated
emotional involvement in the dream. The amount
of clouding in prelucid dreams was significantly
greater than both nonlucid (/'(1/32) = 8.85,/x.Ol)
and lucid (F(l/32) = 5.88, p<.025) dreams, but
nonlucid and lucid dreams were not significantly
different in reported clouding {F(l/32) = 0.58). The
prelucid hallucinatory reports were significantly
greater than nonlucid dreams (F(l/32) = 7.15,
p<.025), but hallucinosis was unable to signifi-
cantly discriminate between prelucid and lucid iF{l/
32) = 1.23) or lucid and nonlucid (i='(l/32) = 1.83).
The revised scale which ordered prelucidity greater
than lucidity was significantly correlated with
clouding (r = .34, p<.05) and hallucinosis (r =
.35, p<.05), and these two dimensions of bizarre-
ness were significantly (/* = .54, p<.001) correlated
with each other. Bizarre content was significantly
correlated (Clouding: r = .36, p<.05; Hallucinosis:
r = .47, p<.005) with alpha activity at the begin-
ning of the REM period, but not significantly cor-
related with REM alpha preceding the arousal
(Clouding: r = .26; Hallucinosis: r = .14). Bizarre
dream content seems to be most typical of prelucid
dreams and high REM alpha at the beginning of
the REM period; however REM alpha was a better
discriminator of lucid dream types than any of the
dimensions of dream content.
Cohen (1979) hypothesized that dream lucidity
would gradually increase during the period asleep
refiecting a shift from right to left hemispheric dom-
inance. There was a tendency for the three dream
types to differ in terms of time of night (F(2/32) =
2.11, p = .08) and not to differ significantly for
REM (F(2/32) = 0.74) or arousal number (F(2/32)
= 0.72). The average time of night in hours and
minutes of prelucid (5:38) and lucid (5:02) dreams
was later than nonlucid (3:55) dreams, but only pre-
lucid dreams were significantly different from non-
Vol. 21, No. 4
lucid dreams (F(l/32) = 5.12, p<.05). Time of night
was significantly correlated with the revised lucidity
scale (r = .37, p<.05), tended to be negatively cor-
related with control (r = .30, p = .07), and not
significantly correlated with REM alpha (LFA: r =
.17; HFA: r = .24). It is interesting to note that
self-rated emotional involvement increased signif-
icantly {r = .44, p<.Ol) with the number of arousals
during the night.
In summary, the major finding was a relatively
distinct pattern of REM alpha for prelucid, non-
lucid, and lucid dreams which correctly classified
71% of the dreams. Prelucid dreams with relatively
high REM alpha at the beginning of the period and
preceding the arousal were most distinct from non-
lucid dreams with low REM alpha. Bizarre dream
content also discriminated prelucid from nonlucid
dreams and was associated with high REM alpha
at the beginning of the period. Although empirically
distinct, lucid dreams were the most difficult to dis-
criminate with a pattern of relatively high REM
alpha at the beginning and moderately low REM
alpha preceding the arousal. The amount of cloud-
ing discriminated prelucid from lucid dreams, but
outside of the lucidity dimension nonlucid and lu-
cid dreams could not be discriminated with any of
the other content dimensions measured in this study.
Discussion
The occurrence of alpha activity during REM
sleep without signs of awakening encourages further
research into psychophysiological correlates of REM
alpha, and the relationship with the lucidity di-
mension enhances the face validity of lucid dream
reports. Independent assessment of physiological
measures and dream content classification systems
is essential to establishing a psychophysiological as-
sociation. In this study the amount of REM alpha
was found to discriminate between the blind clas-
sification of prelucid, lucid, and nonlucid dreams.
Lucidity was scaled independent of any involve-
ment in the laboratory proceedings and was scaled
blind to the arousal condition and other content
dimensions. The demand characteristics and sug-
gestibility of participating in a lucid dream study
were equivalent for all dream types and independ-
ent of the arousal manipulation. Arousal order ef-
fects were randomized by flipping a coin to deter-
mine a high or low alpha arousal and the arousal
interrogation was standardized. The association be-
tween REM alpha and lucidity adds support to the
psychophysiological study of lucidity as a dream
content dimension.
High amplitude and deviant REM alpha pre-
ceding the arousal clearly discriminates prelucid
dreams from nonlucid and lucid dreams. Current
July, 1984 Dream Lucidity Related to Alpha Activity
theories of waking alpha offer one explanation for
the association between prelucid dreams and high
REM alpha which has some interesting parallels to
the suggestion that REM sleep reflects endogenous
stimulation of the oculomotor system (Roffwarg,
Muzio, & Dement, 1966), more general periodic
cortical activation (Ephron & Carrington, 1966), and
rate of information processing (de la Pena, Zarcone,
& Dement, 1973). The oculomotor hypothesis
(MulhoUand, 1968, 1973; Peper, 1971), synthesized
by Wertheim (1974), argues that the blocking of
waking alpha is determined not by the presence or
absence of visual stimulation or efferent motor
commands, but by the interlocking of these systems
where sensory or imagined information guides the
motor adjustments (Tyson & Audette, 1979). One
method for producing alpha by disconnecting these
two systems would be to eliminate the predictions
necessary for neuromuscular control, attention, and
habituation (Weiner, 1948; Powers, 1973; Treis-
man, 1969; Pribram, 1971; Tyson & Gavard, 1976).
The unpredictable, bizarre prelucid dream would
be expected to disconnect the sensory motor sys-
tems and produce alpha activity. Once released from
sensory motor control, the alpha generators, wheth-
er corticothalamic (Andersen & Andersson, 1968,
1974) or cortical (Lopes da Silva, Van Lierop, Schri-
jer, & Storm van Leeuwen, 1973; Lopes da Silva,
vanRotterdam,Barts, van Heusden, & Burr, 1976),
could recruit other cortical generators to produce
the harmonic spectral plots (Figures 1 and 2) found
in this study and Ogilvie et al. (1982b). The base
frequencies, determined by the harmonic power
distributions (Pavlidis, 1973), in all cases were with-
in the alpha frequency range which supports the
suggestion that alpha was the basic generator, al-
though future research may find other harmonics
better discriminators due to alpha power ceiling ef-
fects. Theoretically there are a number of ways and
levels at which the sensory motoi systems can be
disconnected, which may explain the variety of ex-
periences associated with waking alpha and medi-
tation (Kamiya, 1969; Walsh, 1974; Plotkin, 1969).
Multivariate analysis of waking alpha experiences
(Tyson & Audette, 1979) found one distinct pattern
of experiences which is analogous to the unpre-
dictable, bizarre prelucid experiences. Depending
on many variables such as set, setting, and stimu-
lation, other distinct experiences have been found
associated with waking alpha (Tyson, 1982a) and
similar variables may affect the dream experiences
associated with REM alpha.
There are several reasons other investigators
(LaBerge, 1980, 1981; Heame, 1981) failed to con-
firm the Ogilvie et al. (1978, 1982b) alpha-lucidity
hypothesis. These investigators did not compare lu-
449
cid dreams to other dream types, failed to quantify
the spectral and temporal characteristics of REM
alpha, and used a small select sample of lucid dreams
and trained lucid dreamers. The findings in this
study show why these investigators observing only
lucid dreams would not see the relationship be-
tween high REM alpha and prelucidity or a pattem
of REM alpha associated with lucidity; they con-
firmed the difficulty of discriminating lucid and
nonlucid dreams by the amount of REM alpha pre-
ceding the arousal.
Discrimination of lucid dreams from nonlucid
dreams was possible by measuring the positive al-
pha deviations from the individual's REM mean
and by measuring the peak deviation within a time
period. This supports the Ogilvie et al. (1978, 1982b)
hypothesis that high REM alpha or positive devia-
tions may be more important or at least better dis-
criminators of lucid dreams. Positive and peak de-
viations refine the testing of the hypothesis by lim-
iting the measurement range to the positive or the
single most deviant epoch. The significance of these
measures lies in the possibility that a definable, rel-
atively brief, unusual physiological change at par-
ticular points in the REM period may be associated
with becoming lucid. Absolute alpha amplitude was
found to be an insensitive measure at the beginning
of the REM period and did not approach signifi-
cance. The standardization of physiological mea-
sures occurs infrequently in psychophysiology, al-
though the REM period, in contrast to NREM, is
usually characterized by heightened variability in
physiological measures and a relationship has been
found between the variability of physiological mea-
sures and dream content (Rechtschaffen, 1973).
Lucid dreams were found to have relatively high
REM alpha at the beginning of the period followed
by lower levels near the arousal. In some lucid
dreams the change from relatively high to low alpha
was quite abrupt (Figure 1, B & F) and may cycle
over time during long REM periods (Figure 2). The
association between high alpha and prelucid, bi-
zarre experiences at the beginning of the REM pe-
riod supports Green's (1968) suggestion that lucid-
ity is sometimes preceded by prelucid experiences,
Finding lucid dreams in the middle in terms of REM
alpha and between the predictable, realistic non-
lucid dream content and the unpredictable, bizarre
prelucid dreams implies that lucidity may be a com-
bination of more than one process, coexisting si-
multaneously. According to systems theory, the si-
multaneous coexistence of subsystems is as com-
mon as driving a car and carrying on a conversation
(Tyson, 1982b). Lucidity shifts the hierarchy of at-
tention allowing you to drive the car and simul-
taneously monitor the driving instead of engaging
450 Tyson, Ogilvie, and Hunt
in a variety of other activities such as carrying on
a conversation. The allocation of attention to mon-
itoring waxes and wanes as you attend to other ac-
tivities. Lucid monitoring of driving wanes during
extremely predictable and unpredictable driving
conditions. Lapses of active monitoring sometimes
happen for long periods of time on long trips or
well trod routes, and lapses also happen during slip-
pery conditions or stressful emergency situations
where total attention capacity is allocated to driving
the car (Tyson, 1982b). The periodic cycling of lu-
cidity is like a balanced scale and similar to the
waxing and waning of alpha activity. In terms of
dream content, as the hierarchy of cognitive orga-
nizations begins to level, attention becomes more
simultaneous, memory more image-like, associa-
tions become more random and dreams more bi-
zarre. The more equivalent allocation of attention
should involve greater cerebral area with a resulting
increase in EEG power.
Lucidity occurs in the middle between prelucid
and nonlucid dreams and is associated with mod-
erate levels of REM alpha. Research is needed to
test this association by training people to manip-
ulate lucidity or alpha activity, but the training may
change the association. Training using alpha feed-
back has shown that the duration, amplitude, and
spectral distribution of waking alpha can be signif-
icantly manipulated (Tyson, 1982a). Whether wak-
ing alpha training affects REM alpha is uncertain,
but the strong correlation (Johnson et al, 1969)
between the two makes the possibility worth in-
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