The Chemistry Behind Dreams
Dreams are involuntary successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Dreams primarily occur in the REM (rapid-eye movement) stage of sleep, when the brain activity is high and resembles being awake. Dreams can last for a few short seconds or as long as twenty minutes. People have on average about four to seven dreams per night, which is about twenty percent of our time spent sleeping.
All dreams, nightmares, and night terrors are caused by different chemicals being released while a person sleeps. Humans fall asleep through the activation of the neurotransmitter known as gamma-aminobutyric acid. A photo of a molecule of gamma-aminobutyric acid is pictured to the right.Sleeping is a default state present in people, however, people can’t sleep when they are required because your body will not support sleep when your brain is active, and the secretion of Acetylcholine and other chemicals in our body which make humans awake during the day. The other chemicals include Dopamine, Glutamate, Aspartate, Histamine, Serotonin, and Norepinephrine. Acetylcholine is released in large amount as a result of awakeness. But strangely, is also found in high levels during REM sleep. The lowest levels of Acetylcholine are found during delta sleep. From the end of the day until about the time a person goes to sleep, there is a rise of the chemical Melatonin in the body. Pictured below is a Acetylcholine molecule.
Melatonin is naturally produced by an area just above the middle of the brain called the pineal gland. Melatonin releases for about twelve hours- which is all through the night- and begins to taper off around nine in the morning. Research shows that a certain amount of melatonin increases the amount of dreams a person has. Taking a melatonin supplement can also increase the chances of having a lucid dream because the body is in a more self- aware state while in REM sleep. Sleep is governed by the opposition of two brain circuits. One of which produces transmitters that promote sleep and the other produces chemicals that inhibit sleep. Pictured to the right is a Melatonin molecule.
Oxytocin is a neurohypophysial hormone that acts as a neuromodulator in the brain. Levels of Oxytocin peak after about five hours of sleep. These levels are often associated with light sleep and frequent dreams are social interactions. Oxytocin affects our social interactions in real life so these interactions continue when a person is sleeping through dreams. Adenosine, another chemical, accumulates in a person’s bloodstream and eventually makes a person drowsy. Inside the brain, Adenosine regulates non-REM sleep. This occurs by adenosine deaminase breaking down or metabolizing adenosine molecules. The metabolizing of the adenosine molecules has an effect on the intensity and duration of sleep. Most people report forgetting their dreams. Why? Dreams involve a low grade type of mental activity and some scientists say that forgetting dreams is caused by the lack of the hormone, norepinephrine, in the cerebral cortex. The presence and amounts of chemicals in the brain affect the type of dreams, the amount of dreams, and the remembrance of dreams in humans. Pictured to the left is a Oxytocin molecule.
Works Cited
http://www.worldofchemicals.com/253/chemistry-articles/dream-chemistry-an-outcome-of-chemical-release-while-sleeping.html
http://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/07/science/scientists-unraveling-chemistry-of-dreams.html?pagewanted=all
http://www.chemistryislife.com/the-chemistry-of-dreaming
Hey "Faith D."! So dreams, huh? I have always been interested in my own dreams that I have at night and never really knew any of the science related material that goes along with them. I have always wanted to keep like a "dream journal" so I could look back on some of the dreams that I've had that stick out to me. Typically I remember those that I have when I take naps for short periods of time which is supported by your claim in your post about how dreams usually last about twenty minutes. You did mention that there were different chemicals that are released that cause different types of dreams. Do you think this coincides with any other chemicals that are released in your brain during the time that you are awake that may result from the emotions that you experience during that day? I feel like at night, as you also pointed out, that parts of your brain shut off making you unconscious of what specifically is going on, however, I do believe that a majority of your brain still operates and perhaps the emotions that you feel during the time that you are awake still are being processed by your brain while you are sleeping. I also thought after reading your post, is there a way to increase the amount of norepinephrine hormone in your cerebral cortex? If so, not saying that I would get into some weird mind stuff that wouldn't be healthy, it would be interesting to see what you remember from your night of sleep with an increased amount of that hormone. Maybe you would remember all of your dreams, or maybe even be conscious enough while you are experience these dreams to have more of the "lucid" dreams that you mentioned. Dreams have always been a well speculated and researched topic by scientists and I am glad you got to share your research.
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting, Faith! I always thought it was strange, like Garret said, that these dreams only last about 20 minutes. I know mine seem a lot longer than that! I also wanted to add that I saw some research going on in recreating our dreams from our brain activity. People watched YouTube videos inside of an MRI machine and then the researchers collected the data from the scans and reconstructed the videos based on the colors and movements of the video. Then, using this same concept, they would have their subjects fall asleep and then they would ask them to describe what they had seen in their dreams. The machine could then match the dreams with a series of images. If anyone wants to read more, I found this information at: http://mentalfloss.com/article/54204/scientists-recreate-dreams-youtube-videos. Maybe like Garret said, this could be a step towards recreating our dreams or remembering more of what we dream.
ReplyDeleteFaith, I really enjoyed reading your post. I have always wondered how the brain works while you sleep. But I was wondering if you had run across time perception in your research. I know that I have had dreams where I went through an entire day of school, but it lasted only five minutes. How is it that sleep affects ones perception of time? How does the brain pick up where you left off the day before? Why is it that you do not experience time when you are asleep? Is it because of consciousness v unconsciousness?
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