Misalignments of rest-activity rhythms in inpatients with schizophrenia.

Aims: Rest-activity rhythms of human beings generally synchronize to a 24-h time cue. Very few detailed research studies have examined rest-activity rhythms in patients with schizophrenia. The present study aimed to explore (i) rest-activity rhythms in patients with schizophrenia, and (ii) factors relevant to their rhythm characteristics.

Effect of voluntary attention on auditory processing during REM sleep.

Study Objectives: The study investigates whether there is an effect of voluntary attention to external auditory stimuli during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep in humans by measuring event-related potentials (ERPs).

Design: Using a 2-tone auditory-discrimination task, a standard 1000-Hz tone and a deviant 2000-Hz tone were presented to participants when awake and during sleep. In the ATTENTIVE condition, participants were requested to detect the deviant stimuli during their sleep whenever possible.

Comparison of the event-related potentials between tonic and phasic periods of rapid eye movement sleep.

The event-related potentials (ERP) of eight young healthy volunteers were recorded during wakefulness and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep using an auditory discrimination task. REM sleep was classified into phasic and tonic periods according to the presence or absence of REM. In wakefulness, deviant stimuli elicited a P300 that was maximal over parieto-central areas.