Features of REM sleep:
EEG resembles that of stage I Non-REM sleep i.e. low voltage, high frequency β waves;
Brain activity > awake
Body temperature drifts towards ambient temp.
Arousal
Spontaneous is easy;
By external stimulus is difficult
Atonia, except muscles of the eyeballs, ossicles and diaphragm
Increased heart rate & BP
Respiration is rapid and irregular; unresponsive to changes in CO2.
Decreased GIT motility
High association With dreaming
Penile erection & clitoral engorgement.
REM sleep is also associated with a distinctive pattern of high-amplitude electrical potentials known as pontine-geniculate-occipital (PGO) waves.
Waves of neural activity are detected first in the pons and then in the lateral geniculate of the hypothalamus, and then the occipital cortex → Trigger REM sleep???
REM deprivation results in high density of PGO waves when allowed to sleep normally.