A Proposed Mechanism for Drug-induced Nightmares

Authors

Isaac Brezner, Touro College

Abstract

The following is the introduction of this article: The fields of neuropharmacology and psychopharmacology are known to be highly connected, despite our severe lack of knowledge in these fields. One of the many overlaps between the two fields is sleep, which itself entails many mechanisms and events which are, as of yet, unexplainable. From the perspective of either field, one of the most mysterious events occurring during sleep is dreaming. From the cause of dreams to their content, little is known about them or their more sinister subclassification: nightmares. In this field of disturbed dreaming, neuropharmacology makes a large intrusion into the organized theory of psychology. It has been shown via drug studies that some drugs can cause disturbed dreaming as a side effect of their neuropharmaceutical action or as a backlash of withdrawal (Pagel, 2010a, 2010b). Additionally, it has been shown that REM sleep is linked to dream production (Nofzinger, 1997). These windows into the dream world leads to the suggestion that part of the mechanism for causing dreams is disturbed by certain drugs resulting in hyper-bizarre psychotic dreaming. Perhaps, the specific mechanism that tries to fit the nonsensical stream of neurological data to with the brain’s compilation of expected physical action and reaction has been faulted by the drug, thereby producing such psychotic dreaming known as nightmares.

Recommended Citation

Brezner, I. (2011). A Proposed Mechanism for Drug-induced Nightmares. The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences, 4(2). Retrieved from https://touroscholar.touro.edu/sjlcas/vol4/iss2/8