THE LOGIC OF SLEEP-LEARNING: Page 14

subjects to perform feats impossible for them during conditions of consciousness. The retentive power of the subconscious accounts for people carrying out post-hypnotic suggestions. It is these same principles of relaxation and receptivity to suggestion (suggestion concentrates the attention of the subconscious), on which sleep-learning is based. The reticular theory of consciousness, a new explanation of how the brain works, puts forth the hypothesis that the nerve cells performing the highest level of integration are deep within the brain, not in the outer layer, or cortex. This inner system is known as the reticular system, and the theory is that the cortex gives meaning to the incoming stimuli and stores these meanings for future reference. The cortex also condenses, edits and transmits the sense stimuli to the reticular system for final integration into meaning. Then the reticular system sends out impulses to sensori-motor regions of the cortex which will induce a muscular response. According to this theory it is not only the cortex, but also the midbrain (subconscious) which can store patterns of learned behavior. The cortex plays an important role in the learning of motor activity, but in time this is bypassed and the reticular system and the subcortical motor centers take over most of the work. The electro-encephalograph, a machine which records brain activity, has shown us that the subconscious is receptive and alert twenty-four hours a day, and has established proof that the subconscious mind can absorb for that full period. Proceeding from this knowledge, sleep-learning authorities base their approach on the fact that the sub-