Patients with idiopathic REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (iRBD) and those with Non-Rapid Eye Movement Parasomnia (NREMP) differ not only in the content of their morning dream recalls but also in the structural organization of those recalls. iRBD patients were more likely to recall dreams and had more white dreams (feeling of having dreamt without memory). Speech graph analysis revealed that iRBD dream reports had stable, linear sequential structures, while NREMP dream reports were more recursive and less stable, with higher graph connectivity scores. These findings suggest distinct underlying mechanisms for dream recall in these two sleep disorders.
Déjà vu is experienced by 73% of healthy Italian adults, with frequency declining as age increases. The Italian version of the Inventory Déjà Vu Experiences Assessment (I-IDEA) reliably detects and characterizes the phenomenon. In a sample of 542 healthy volunteers aged 18–70, déjà vu was inversely related to age, derealisation, jamais vu, precognitive dreams, depersonalization, paranormal activity, remembering dreams, travel frequency, and daydreams.
A 7-year history of vivid, immersive dreaming perceived as continuous with waking life, accompanied by persistent dream-reality confusion, is described in a younger individual. The patient engaged in reality-testing behaviors and reported significant cognitive fatigue. Video-polysomnography confirmed REM sleep without atonia and a dream re-enactment episode. Neuropsychiatric evaluation ruled out dissociative or psychotic disorders, and no neurodegenerative disease was observed. The case suggests a potentially distinct, non-neurodegenerative REM parasomnia phenotype, highlighting the need to expand current classifications to capture cognitive and metacognitive dimensions of REM sleep disorders. Potential mechanisms involving melanin-concentrating hormone signaling are discussed.
Among 944 young women surveyed about their menstrual cycle and dream recall, 378 remembered the previous night's dreams. Of those, 199 reported pleasant dream content and 179 reported unpleasant content. Pleasant dream content was associated with the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. The hormonal changes during the luteal phase may influence the emotional tone of dreams.