Detection of verbal discordances during sleep.
We used an electrophysiological marker of linguistic discordance, the N400 wave, to investigate how linguistic and pseudo-linguistic stimuli are categorised during sleep as compared to waking. During wakefulness, signs of discordance detection were, as expected, greater for pseudo-words than for real but semantically incongruous words, relative to congruous words. In sleep stage 2 all signs of hierarchic process of discordance disappeared. A new hierarchic process reappeared in paradoxical sleep, which differed from that of waking, responses to pseudo-words being similar to those to congruous words. Linguistic absurdity appears to be accepted in a different manner during paradoxical sleep than during waking, and this might explain why absurd contents are so naturally incorporated into otherwise plausible dream stories.
Perrin
Fabien
F
EA-1880, University Claude Bernard, Lyon, France.
Bastuji
Hélène
H
Garcia-Larrea
Luis
L
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D004325:Dreams / Q000502:physiology; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012660:Semantics; D012894:Sleep Stages / Q000502:physiology*; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D014851:Wakefulness / Q000502:physiology