Sixteen subjects slept in the laboratory for three nonconsecutive nights. On the third night subjects saw a stressful film before going to sleep and again in the morning. Half of the subjects were presented with part of the sound track of the film during rapid eye movement (REM) periods at an intensity below the waking threshold (film-sound condition) while the other half were not (filmalone condition). The dreams of the subjects in the film-sound condition contained significantly more incorporations of film elements than those of subjects in the film-alone condition, suggesting that the presentation of the sound stimulus during REM periods was partially successful in enhancing the effects of the film on dreams. Contrary to expectations, subjects who exhibited more emotionality at the second presentation of the film tended to be those who had more incorporations of film elements in their dreams; thus it appears that film incorporation interfered with the adaptation to stress. Finally, a group of subjects who saw the film twice, with an 8-hour waking interval, tended to be more anxious at the second presentation than subjects who slept during the interval.In recent years a number of studies have examined the effects of stressful or unusual presleep experiences on dream con-

SUMMARY The objective of this study is to examine daytime sleepiness and alertness and nap characteristics among women with significant emotional ⁄ behavioral premenstrual symptoms, and to determine their relationship with nocturnal sleep. Participants spent one night during the follicular phase and two nights during the late-luteal phase, one of which occurred after a 40 min opportunity to nap, sleeping in the laboratory. Subjective measures of sleepiness and alertness were completed during the afternoon of each recording. Setting took place at the sleep laboratory at the University of Ottawa. A total number of participants were 10 women with significant and nine women with minimal emotional ⁄ behavioral premenstrual symptoms (mean age 26 years). The results were compared with the follicular phase, both groups of women had less slow wave sleep and more stage 2 sleep at night, as well as a higher daytime and nocturnal mean and maximum temperature during the late-luteal phase. Women with significant symptoms were sleepier and less alert during the late-luteal phase and had a higher overall mean nocturnal temperature compared with women with minimal symptoms. No significant differences were found between the two groups on nap characteristics and nocturnal sleep characteristics. Results show that women with more severe premenstrual symptoms are sleepier during the late-luteal phase than women with minimal symptoms. The increased daytime sleepiness seems to be unrelated to nocturnal sleep or nap characteristics.

It was hypothesized that field-independent Ss would produce more white space figure-ground reversal responses (S) on the Rorschach test than field-dependent Ss. From 27 females and 25 males given the rod-and-frame test the 7 most field-independent and the 7 most field-dependent took the Rorschach test. The 7 field-independent Ss produced more white space reversals. A control on the number of reversal responses as a function of time of exposure and a control on sex differences showed no contaminating effect. Thus, both measures may refer to the same dimension.

Eight undergraduate males received the embedded figures test (EFT) on one of two testing nights in the laboratory and the rod and frame test (RFT) on the other night. Tests were presented at either the beginning or end of each of the first four rapid eye movement periods (REMPs). Test presentation nights and awakenings were counterbalanced. Performance on the RFT was better at the end of REMPs than at the onset, but a high (r = +.67), though not significant, correlation was found between REM density and decrement of performance on the RFT.Since the discovery of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep (Aserinsky & Kleitman, 1953), there has been a great deal of speculation concerning its function. Recently, attention has been focused on the possible utility of the eye movements themselves. Berger (1969) has suggested that the innervation of the oculomotor system during REM periods (REMPs) may serve to maintain facilitation of eye movements during extended periods of sleep. Subsequent work (Berger & Scott, 1971 ;Berger & Walker, 1972) has shown that oculomotor coordination and binocular depth perception are better at the end of REMPs than at the onset of REMPs and, further, that ocular imbalances are of greater magnitude and frequency at the onset of REMPs than at their termination. While oculomotor theory (Berger, 1969) refers specifically to depth perception, the present study was designed to examine the possibility that REMP activity might aid performance in other more complicated visual tasks.To this end, the rod and frame test (RFT) and 'the embedded figures test (EFT) were chosen as the tasks. In the RFT the S is required to adjust a rod to the vertical in a field devoid of visual cues except for a tilted frame, and in the EFT the S is required to locate a simple geometric form concealed in a larger complex design. Both tests typically are used to measure the personality dimension of field dependence (Witkin et aI, 1962) Bull. Psychon. Soc., 1973, Vol. 1 (4) although they have high reliability over extended periods of time (Witkin, Goodenough, & Karp, 1967), performance on them has been altered momentarily by specific training (McAllister, 1970;Weiner, 1955), sensory isolation (Jacobson, 1966;Kurie & Mordkoff, 1970), and arousal (Gross, 1959). In addition, there is some suggestion that the performance might be related to the nature of the eye movement sequences used to attack them (Conklin, Muir, & Boersma, 1968;Silverman, 1968). Specifically, it was predicted that performance on the RFT and EFT would be better immediately following the end of REMPs than at their onset. In addition, it was reasoned that, if the eye movements themselves are the facilitators or indicators of innervation of the oculomotor system, there should be a direct positive correlation between measures of REMs-REM density (eye movements per unit time), total number of REMs, and duration of REMs (length of REMPs)-and performance on both the RFT and EFT. METHOD SubjectsEight paid male undergraduate students served as Ss.Apparatus and Procedure Eac...