Stepping outside the box for a second.......................

[jonesn]

Just an idea: neurotechnology (EEG) + computer + IV-based neurochemical moderator (drug) = 4 hour lucid dream (?) I'll explain. When we awake from a lucid dream, it happens because the neurochemical balance necessary for REM is destablized by excitement. It's a conscoius "cause" with a subconsious "effect". What if a drug could be administered in this fleeting moment to stabilize the dreamers' neurochemical balance to maintain REM/lucidity before they wake up? An EEG can detect REM or even lucidity in real-time, so this acts as a digital trigger for the computer to activate an IV pump to administer enough of the drug in that moment to keep the dreamer in REM for a very extended period of time. I would make a pretty good mad scientist

[[Alpha]-0mega-]

It would depend, how fast does the ''drug'' take effect? + You'd have to be 100% sure that the body reacts the way you WANT it to react. I haven't read scientifi reports on this so I wouldn't know how the body reacts on an ''external feed'' of this stuff.

[Wolffe]

Plus this doesnt take the fact that REM periods are only rather short!

[jonesn]

Originally posted by [Alpha -0mega-]It would depend, how fast does the ''drug'' take effect? + You'd have to be 100% sure that the body reacts the way you WANT it to react. I haven't read scientifi reports on this so I wouldn't know how the body reacts on an ''external feed'' of this stuff. The point of an IV-based drug is that it takes effect immediately because it is administered directly to the bloodsteam, whereas a pill takes much longer because it must be digested. Just off the top of my head I would say this drug would have to be able to prevent the rush of acetylcholine levels in the brain that would accompany the moment of waking up, or something to that effect. It could even be that such a system would not necessarily react to a moment of waking up but administer the drug slowly during REM so that the moment could be avoided altogether for as long as the neurochemical balance is kept in check by the drug.

[jonesn]

Originally posted by Wolffe Plus this doesnt take the fact that REM periods are only rather short! Right, that's the whole point of using such a system. REM5 is on average 50 minutes long, so the system would wait until this dominant REM stage to act (REM1-4 are too short, and you don't want to interupt NREM stages).