Patterns of sleep talking.

Abstract

In recent years, the work of Aserinsky, Dement, Kleitman, and others^1-5has stimulated research on the relationship of electroencephalographic (EEG) and eye-movement patterns to dreaming. This type of research usually involves continuous monitoring of the EEG's of sleeping subjects. In those laboratories where the use of an intercom system has permitted simultaneous sound monitoring of subjects' sleeping rooms, investigators have had the opportunity to hear subjects talking in their sleep. This paper reports our observations of sleep talking and its relationship to EEG patterns, dreaming, and other variables. Since our findings will be discussed in the context of the recent EEG-dream research, a brief introduction to this area is indicated. In one of their reports, Dement and Kleitman defined 4 EEG stages of sleep: Stage 1—low voltage, random activity; Stage 2—spindling and K complexes against a low-voltage background; Stage 3—spindling and K complexes against a