Eye Movements of Waking Subjects With Closed Eyes

Introduction USING THE electro-oculographic method, Aserinsky and Kleitman²⁻⁴recorded eye movements during sleep. They described two types of eye movements, slow and rapid, and postulated that rapid eye movements in intermittent bursts are related to the visual imagery of the dream. Their findings have been confirmed by Dement and his co-workers.⁵⁻⁷,¹¹ In contrast to these electro-oculographic observations made during sleep, there are a few findings observed from a standpoint of psychophysiology in subjects who are awake with their eyes closed. Lorens and Darrow⁹have reported electro-oculographic changes caused by mental calculations. Amadeo and Shagass¹have also described the relation between electro-oculographic findings and hypnosis or attention. These reports measured small, rapid eye movements. Using polygraphic recordings of the electro-oculogram (EOG) and other electrical phenomena, we found the following: (1) Slow eye movements cannot be seen only at the onset of sleep