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Ville Loukola

5 papers in the library · 6 citations · publishing 2022-2026

Papers

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A graph theory approach to chart the architecture of dream and mind-wandering reports

Communications Psychology October 11, 2026 Peter Coppola, Pilleriin Sikka, Katja Valli et al.

Abstract The language people use to describe their inner experiences arising during sleep and wakefulness provides a window into the mind. Dreams and unguided waking thought, here referred to as mind wandering, are thought to reflect unique individual differences and mental health. Here we use graph theory to analyse a large dataset of dream (n = 1434) and mind wandering (n = 1619) reports from...

Individual and Situational Predictors of Threatening Dream Content During the COVID ‐19 Pandemic

Journal of Sleep Research April 2, 2026 Ville Loukola, Jarno Tuominen, Eveliina Malinen et al.

Previous studies have examined how the COVID-19 pandemic affected dream recall, dream content, and nightmares. However, relatively little attention has been devoted to the individual and situational factors associated with pandemic-induced changes in dreams. The threat simulation theory of dreaming predicts that threatening situations in our waking life (situational factors) influence...

DOI: 10.1111/jsr.70336 (opens in new tab) Situational ethics Dream Experience sampling method Life satisfaction +6

Individual and situational factors predicting threatening events and pandemic-related threatening events in dreams during the COVID-19 pandemic

September 11, 2025 Ville Loukola, Jarno Tuominen, Eveliina Malinen et al. preprint

Previous studies have examined how the COVID-19 pandemic affected dream recall, dream content, and nightmares. However, relatively little attention has been devoted to the individual and situational factors associated with pandemic-induced changes in dreams. The threat simulation theory of dreaming predicts that threatening situations in our waking life (situational factors) influence...

DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/bsg7x_v1 (opens in new tab) Situational ethics Dream Trait Experience sampling method +7

Viral simulations in dreams: The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on threatening dream content in a Finnish sample of diary dreams

Consciousness and Cognition February 8, 2024 Ville Loukola, Jarno Tuominen, Santeri Kirsilä et al. 4 citations

Previous research indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected dreaming negatively. We compared 1132 dreams collected with prospective two-week dream diary during the pandemic to 166 dreams collected before the pandemic. We hypothesized that the pandemic would increase the number of threatening events, threats related to diseases, and the severity of threats. We also hypothesized that...

DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2024.103651 (opens in new tab) Pandemic Dream Contradiction Content measure theory +5

COVID-19 on mind: Daily worry about the coronavirus is linked to negative affect experienced during mind-wandering and dreaming

January 18, 2022 Pilleriin Sikka, Jarno Tuominen, Alejandro Ezquerro‐Nassar et al. 2 citations preprint

Despite a surge of studies on the effects of COVID-19 on our well-being, we know little about how the pandemic is reflected in people’s spontaneous thoughts and experiences, such as mind-wandering (or daydreaming) during wakefulness and dreaming during sleep. We investigated whether and how COVID-19 related general concern, anxiety, and daily worry are associated with the daily fluctuation of...