Time trends and periodic cycles in REM sleep eye movements.

Eye movements during REM sleep episodes were tabulated in 16 young adults. REM episodes were then broken down into four ranges according to length in min: (1) 11.0-21.3; (2) 21.7-29.7; (3) 30.0-42.3; (4) 42.7 or longer. These data were then analyzed for linear and quadratic trends. Eight episodes had a significant linear trend, 10 had a significant quadratic trend, 7 had both linear and quadratic trends, while 12 had no trend. The residuals from the best-fitting polynomial curve were then subject to a spectral analysis. In addition, 2 long periods of pre-sleep wakefulness (approximately 2 h each) were also analyzed. In general, the spectral analysis revealed the dominant presence of a slow cycle (period of 10 min to about 30 min) the exact period of which varied according to the length of the REM episode. A binomial probability test indicated that the presence of slow cycles was significant in REM episodes except for those in the 21-30 min range. For the episodes of wakefulness, a dominant slow cycle was found in both cases. The results give the impression of similarity in the periodic organization of eye movements during REM sleep and waking. The data also indicated that an ultradian (70-150 min) cycle was present in eye movements during sleep and waking. Further, the finding of a decrease in eye movements before sleep onset, coupled with previous reports of an increase in eye movement after sleep onset, indicate the presence of a circadian cycle.