Вы находитесь на странице: 1из 2

Scientific advances in the twentieth century have allowed researchers to study the chemical activities taking place in the

sleeping human brain. In the 1970s, researcher Barry Jacobs drew on these advances to propose that a shared neurochemical basis in the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine accounts for the observable similarities between dreams and hallucinations. To test Jacobs theory, researchers attempted to elucidate the role of serotonin and norepinephrine in the normal sleep cycle and the effect of hallucinogenic drugs on these neurotransmitters. Serotonin appears important for managing sleep, mood, and appetite, among other functions, while norepinephrine facilitates alertness and mental focus. Both neurotransmitters are discharged in high quantities only during waking states. At the onset of sleep, the neurons that release these neurotransmitters become less active, allowing the brain to enter the three non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) stages of sleep. The non-REM stages typically are not associated with normal dreaming, though parasomnias, such as sleepwalking and confusional arousals, are most common during stage 3. When the brain is ready to enter the fourth stage, REM, which is strongly associated with dreaming, the levels of these two chemicals drop virtually to zero. The Jacobs hypothesis held that the absence of norepinephrine was required to enable the brain to remain asleep, while the absence of serotonin was necessary to allow dreaming to occur. Lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug which causes significant alteration of the senses; at doses higher than 20 micrograms, it can have a hallucinogenic effect. LSD mimics serotonin well enough to be able to bind at most of the neurotransmitters receptor sites, largely inhibiting normal transmission. In addition, the drug causes the Locus coeruleus, a cluster of neurons containing norepinephrine, to greatly accelerate activity. If the drug stimulates norepinephrine, thereby precluding sleep, and inhibits serotonin, creating a necessary condition for dreaming, then the resulting hallucinations could merely be dreaming while awake. The research thus far is promising but inconclusive; future scientific advances should allow this theory to be tested more rigorously.

1. Which of the following, if true, would most undermine the central premise of the Jacobs hypothesis? A: LSD does not cause as much long-term neurological damage as previously thought. B: Serotonin and norepinephrine are found to rise and fall in tandem. C: Researchers prove conclusively that the level of norepinephrine in the brain is a significant factor in enabling the brain to sleep. D: Some semi-synthetic hallucinogenic drugs other than LSD do not inhibit serotonin. E: The first three stages of sleep are as crucial to the process of dreaming as the fourth stage.

1. We are asked to "undermine the central premise" of the presented hypothesis, which is summarized in the second sentence of the first paragraph. Jacobs proposed that dreams and hallucinations function via a similar brain mechanism involving the levels of two chemicals, serotonin and norepinephrine. Jacobs tried to prove this by demonstrating that the levels of these two chemicals fluctuate in a similar fashion while both dreaming (natural state) and hallucinating (via ingestion of a hallucinatory drug). (A) This choice is out of scope. Jacobs' theory does not address neurological damage; rather, it is a theory about the mechanism of sleep and dreaming. (B) This is the opposite of what we want; we seek to undermine Jacobs' central premise and this would support his idea that the levels of the two chemicals fluctuate in a similar fashion. (C) This could undermine Jacobs' theory under certain circumstances, but it could also bolster the theory; not enough information is given. Jacobs believed that the drop in norepinephrine levels enabled the brain to sleep. This choice merely says the "levels" are significant; it does not quantify these levels, so we do not know whether this choice supports or contradicts Jacobs' hypothesis. (D) CORRECT. If other hallucinogens (i.e., drugs that cause hallucinations) are able to produce hallucinations without inhibiting serotonin, then the central premise of Jacobs' hypothesis that dreams and hallucinations function via a similar brain mechanism involving the levels of serotonin and norepinephrine might not hold. (E) This choice says these stages are "crucial" to the overall process of dreaming (which we can already infer from the passage under normal circumstances, we have to fall asleep before we dream), but it does not say anything else. Perhaps if we were told that dreaming occurs during the first three stages, when levels of the two chemicals are higher, we might conclude that this weakens the hypothesis; the information is too vague as presented, however, to conclude anything.

Вам также может понравиться