AP PSYCHOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -The brain stem (especially the pons and medulla) also plays a special role in REM sleep; it sends signals to relax muscles essential for body posture and limb movements, so that we don’t act out our dreams.

Detailed explanation-2: -The pons is another portion of the brainstem and through it impulses from the spinal cord travel to higher centers of the brain. The pons has the important task of regulating our level of consciousness and whether we are asleep or not. This occurs in an area called the reticular activating system.

Detailed explanation-3: -Deep inside the temporal lobe of the brain, the hippocampus has a central role in our ability to remember, imagine and dream.

Detailed explanation-4: -The key brain structure for generating REM sleep is the brainstem, particularly the pons and adjacent portions of the midbrain. These areas and the hypothalamus contain cells that are maximally active in REM sleep, called REM-on cells, and cells that are minimally active in REM sleep, called REM-off cells.

Detailed explanation-5: -The Pons Serves as a Communication Center for the Brain The main function of the pons in your brainis serving as a relay center for many important messages that must go between different areas of the brain. It aids in many vital functions of the brain by transmitting signals between the forebrain and the cerebellum.