Previous studies in dogs showed dramatic increases in coronary blood flow associated with episodes of sinus tachycardia during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. The present study demonstrates that 90% of these surges in heart rate and coronary flow are concentrated during periods of phasic REM sleep and only 10% in tonic REM sleep. Intensely phasic REM was distinguished from moderately phasic REM sleep by the degree of phasic eye movement. The surges were three times more frequent during intensely phasic REM than in moderately phasic REM sleep. However, the magnitudes of heart rate (37% +/- 3%) and coronary flow (25% +/- 3%) surges were unaffected by the specific substage of REM sleep. The incidence of surge events was almost eleven times greater in epochs of phasic REM that also contained a muscle twitch than in those that did not. During REM sleep, muscle twitches accompanying surges were not associated with any additional elevations in coronary flow or myocardial demand. Our data indicate that the sinus tachycardia-associated surges in coronary flow represent integrated autonomic responses intrinsic to phasic periods of REM sleep in dogs.