Tedhpipriovedcbior Release 2000/0948 Bn FGIA-RDP96-00789R00310014800/h-2 Anomalous Cognition in Lucid Dreams Prepared by: Edwin C. May, Ph.D. and S. LaBerge 20 December 1991 i F A Oe | ——~ /— )) — Ane Th A Gee Science Applications International Corporation An Employee-Owned Company Presented to: The Scientific Oversight Committee Submitted by: Science Applications International Corporation Cognitive Sciences Laboratory 1010 El Camino Real, Suite 330 Menlo Park, California 94025 1010 El Camino Real, Suite 330, P.O. Box 1412, Menlo Park, CA 94025 * (415) 325-8292 OAS PTOVEM For REleaSe' 2000/08/08 ‘CTA-RDP9I6-00789R003T00 140007 -2 * UNEDITED DRAFT x - > ~
Teabind Veciore: Reraaleusstroo/ e768 Lug HAR FEN 6 -00789R003100140001-2 DRAFT TABLE OF CONTENTS I OBJECTIVE 2... 0... c ccc ccc eee teen nec e eee eeeenenanveeenenenveeunenna 1 TT BACKGROUND ......... ccc ccc cece ee eee nese bane neacaveunvenveeenebeaune 2 TIT APPROACH 00... ccc cece ccc cece cence cece beeen beer eeeeteeeneeseennnneees 3 1 Receiver Selection 0.0.0.0... ccc cece ccc eee e eee ses ee neteucueepeseancevenvs 3 2. Target Selection ..... 0... ccc ccc ccc eee cece teen eee tenet eens ee enes 3 3. Trial Definition ...................... Benen eee e eter e stent eee eenee 3 4. Lucid Dream Protocol ........... ccc cece cee cence een cet eetencuvenecega 3 5S. AC Baseline Measures ....... 0.0... ccc ccc eee cece ccc eeesnnecevucenerenves 3 6 Lucid Dream Trial Protocol 22.0.0... 00.0... cence cet reevererenvens 4 ER 0 1) (a 4 IV. DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 2.0.0.0... 0... cc cece cece vc cccveuveeuuneeuns 5 Vis GLOSSARY once ccc ce cece ee ee eee eee bbe teneeteneberecivenbetnnens 6 REFERENCES 2.00.00. c cece reece eee nena seca eee bebbbbeebbbennennbnnnbnnns 7 FW odd m9 a 0D) 9, Cc 8 Approved For Release Joburbufde? OfRAKP96-00789R0031001400012
ToEKHUD PRSLCON KHOIRAS Es SUQAIAGH YP LUG Aniadnig9 6-00789R003100140001-2 DRAFT l. OBJECTIVE The objective of this investigation is to determine if anomalous cognition can be ovserved during a lucid dream." * Definitions of terms can be found in Section V (i.c., Glossary) on page 6. Approved For Release ai cabin sib BA RRAP96-00789R003100140001-2
Te APPTOVER EP ARPeRSS CONROS IN BucAlardaDP 96 -00789R003100140001-2 DRAFT ll. BACKGROUND SEE Dreams involving putative anomalous cognition (AC) have been part of every human culture from the times of ancient Greece to the present. The first serious attempt, however, to examine AC in dreams under controlled conditions began under the direction of Montague Ullman, MD in 1962 at the Com- munity Mental Health Center of the Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. The re- search of AC in dreams continued until 1972 where the dream protocol was abandoned in favor of a simpler and more rapid approach to the study of AC. Child has summarized and critiqued this body of research in the American Psychologist." In these studies, individuals were asked to sleep in a laboratory and be monitored for brain activity and eye movement. From these records, it was possible to tell when they were dreaming. Upon the onset of rapid eye movement (REM), an experimenter notified a sender, who was isolated in a remote laborato- ry, to begin attending to a randomly selected target. At the end of the REM period, the dreamer was awakened and asked to report the dream content. This procedure was repeated throughout the night using the same target material for each separate dream (e.g., up to ten). The assessment of the AC content was accomplished through independent judges. As described by Child, significant evidence for AC was observed under a variety of conditions. The dreamers in these studies, however, were not necessarily focused upon the AC task. They slept as usual and, when asked, reported their dream content. In our pilot study we will focus the dreamer ex- plicitly on the AC task using the methods of lucid dreaming. A lucid dream is one during which the sleeper becomes conscious aware that the experience is a dream as opposed to the waking state. LaBerge et al. (1981) have found that it is possible for dreamers to know when they dreaming and to signal the waking world, through predetermined eye movements, indicating their awareness.2 Using this ability, LaBerge et al. (1986 and 1988) conducted a number of psychophy- siological studies to determine the differences between waking and dreaming from that prospective.>4 They found that dreaming is similar to the waking state. Motor action is mostly inhibited from the brain stem downward; however, the cerebral cortex appears not to “know” this. In this preliminary pilot study, we will use the skills developed by LaBerge to teach individuals to lucid dream. Differing from the earlier AC dream studies, our dreamers will be instructed to adopt a proac- tive attitude to seek out and remember the AC target. In this way, we will determine the degree to which lucid dreaming can facilitate the reception of AC material. ee * References may be found at the end of the document and are included in their entirety in the Appendix. y ty Pp Approved For Release 2900/08/08: C14 HROFP6-00789R003100140001-2