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Title page

THESIS

SUBMITTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND

FOR THE DEGREE OF

By

KEITH MELVYN TREVOR HEARNE BSc MSc

******

BSc, University of Reading, 1970 - 73

MSc, University of Hull, 1973 - 75

PhD, University of Liverpool, 1975 - 78

N.B.

BACKGROUND TO THE

AND THE

ORIGINAL DISCOVERY OF THE OCULAR-SIGNALLING TECHNIQUE FROM LUCID DREAMS

After obtaining a BSc in psychology from Reading University, England, in 1973, Keith Hearne went to Hull University in the Autumn of that year, intending to conduct research for a PhD on hypnotic dreams, following discoveries he had made in 'hypno-oneirography'. He decided instead to use newly acquired computer equipment to research electro-physiological aspects of visual imagery*. During that time he became skilled in running a sleep laboratory.

He became interested in 'lucid' dreaming (the paradoxical conscious awareness of dreaming within the dream itself) and reasoned that it must be possible for a lucid dreamer to communicate to the world of wakefulness. A problem, though, was the inherent muscular paralysis of REM sleep.

In 1975 it suddenly occurred to Hearne that since the eye musculature is not inhibited in REM sleep, it might be possible to get subjects to signal by making deliberate ocular movements.

On the morning of 5^th April 1975, wired up a lucid dream subject who was instructed to make a sequence of left-right eye-movements on becoming lucid. A lucid dream was reported at about 8 am, but unfortunately, the monitoring equipment had just been switched off.

A week later, on the morning of 12^th April 1975, the same subject had another lucid dream. The first signals in the world from a lucid dream were thus recorded.

Hearne continued to obtain more records over the next months. He wound up the work on visual imagery, submitting it for an MSc and moved to Liverpool University, where he was offered a sleep-laboratory, to research lucid dreams for this PhD, using paid subjects.

During the course of this work he discovered the basic electro-physiological features of lucid dreams, including the pre-lucid REM burst. He also invented the first 'dream machine'.

Subsequently Hearne also discovered the 'light switch' phenomenon.

In 1975 Hearne informed psychology departments at American universities of his findings including Stanford (W. Dement) and Chicago (A. Rechtschaffen).

******

*Hearne, Keith M.T. (1975) Visually evoked responses and visual imagery. MSc thesis. University of Hull, England

(Several more books are pending publication)

II.1 BRIEF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

TO ELECTRO-PHYSIOLOGY 7

II.2 ELECTRO-PHYSIOLOGICAL MEASUREMENT

a. Technical points 10

b. The EEG, EOG and EMG 14

III.1 THE PHYSIOLOGY OF SLEEP 23

III.2 THE CHANGING CONCEPT OF SLEEP 26

III.3 DEVELOPMENTAL ASPECTS OF SLEEP 29

III.4 THE PHARMACOLOGY OF SLEEP 31

III.5 SLEEP DEPRIVATION 33

III.6 MEMORY AND SLEEP 35

III.7 EXTERNAL STIMULI AND SLEEP 36

III.8 SIGNALLING FROM SLEEP 37

III.9 BORDERLAND PHENOMENA 41

III.10 ABNORMALITIES OF SLEEP 44

III.11 SLEEP THEORIES 48

IV.1 ANCIENT INTEREST IN DREAMS 53

IV.2 EARLY CHRISTIAN VIEWS 58

IV.3 POLITICO-RELIGIO-CULTURAL DREAMS 59

IV.4 PRE-FREUDIAN DREAM NOTIONS 62

IV.5 FREUDIAN DREAM THEORY 68

IV.6 JUNGIAN DREAM THEORY 79

IV.7 RECENT IDEAS ON DREAMS 83

IV.8 CREATIVITY AND DREAMS 93

V.1 THE PHENOMENON 96

V.2 THE POTENTIAL IMPORTANCE OF LUCID DREAMS 98

V.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF LUCID DREAMS

1. The transitional stage 100

2. The onset of lucidity 100

3. Lucidity starting from a waking state 102

4. Flying and lucid dreams 102

5. Physical realism in lucid dreams 104

6. Psychological realism in lucid-dreams 104

7. Perceptual texture in lucid dreams 105

8. Memory of lucid dreams 107

9. Memory in lucid dreams 107

10. Analytical thought in lucid-dreams 108

11. Emotional quality of lucid-dreams 109

12. Controllability of lucid-dreams 111

13. Extra-sensory perception and lucid dreams 112

14. False-awakenings 113

15. Lucid dreams in 'hypnosis' 115

16. False lucidity 117

V.4 WRITERS ON LUCID DREAMS 118

V.5 LUCID-DREAMS IN RELATION TO DREAM THEORIES 124

V.6 EXPERIMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS 125

A NOTE ON DEMAND CHARACTERISTICS 127

OVERVIEW 135

VII.1 INTRODUCTION 138

VII.2 METHOD 139

VII.3 RESULTS 144

VII.4 CONCLUSIONS 145

VIII.1 INTRODUCTION 147

VIII.2 METHOD 148

VIII.3 RESULTS 151

VIII.4 DISCUSSION 157

VIII.5 CONCLUSIONS 161

IX.1 INTRODUCTION 184

IX.2 RESULTS 186

IX.3 DISCUSSION 206

IX.4 CONCLUSIONS 207

X.1 INTRODUCTION 210

X.2 METHOD 210

X.3 RESULTS 211

X.4 DISCUSSION 216

X.5 CONCLUSIONS 217

XI.1 INTRODUCTION 219

XI.2 METHOD 220

XI.3 RESULTS 221

XI.4 DISCUSSION 224

XII.1 INTRODUCTION 226

XII.2 METHOD 227

XII.3 RESULTS 228

XII.4 DISCUSSION 230

XII.5 CONCLUSIONS 231

XIII. 1 INTRODUCTION 235

XIII.2 METHOD 237

XIII.3 RESULTS 239

XIII.4 DISCUSSION 242

XIII.5 CONCLUSIONS 244

XIV.1.1 FREQUENCY DATA

XIV.1.2 INTRODUCTION 253

XIV.1.3 RESULTS 253

XIV.1.4 DISCUSSION 255

XIV.2 DIARY DATA

XIV.2.1 INTRODUCTION 256

XIV.2.2 METHOD 256

XIV.2.3 RESULTS 257

XIV.2.4 DISCUSSION 258

XIV.3 POST-LUCID-DREAM QUESTIONNAIRE DATA

XIV.3.1 INTRODUCTION 260

XIV.3.2 METHOD 260

XIV.3.3 RESULTS 260

XIV.3.4 DISCUSSION 267

XIV.4 OVERALL CONCLUSIONS 268

XV.1 INTRODUCTION 271

XV.2 METHOD 272

XV.3 RESULTS 273

XV.4 DISCUSSION 278

XV.5 CONCLUSIONS 279

XVI.1 INTRODUCTION 285

XVI.2 METHOD 289

XVI.3 RESULTS 290

XVI.4 DISCUSSION 291

DEVICES : GENERAL INTRODUCTION 293

XVII.1 INTRODUCTION 295

XVII.2 DESCRIPTION OF THE APPARATUS 296

XVII.3 COMMENTS 296

XVIII.1 INTRODUCTION 299

XVIII.2 DESCRIPTION OF THE DEVICE 305

XVIII.3 PROPOSALS 306

XIX.1 INTRODUCTION 309

XIX.2 DESCRIPTION OF THE DEVICE 309

CHAPTER XX. DISCUSSION AND SPECULATIONS

XX.1 SURVEY OF THE FINDINGS 313

XX.2 OTHER POINTS AND SPECULATIONS 322

CHAPTER XXI. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

XXI. CONCLUSIONS 328

XXI.2 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH 333

(END) 418