Hormones and Behavior
March 9, 2026
Zachary B. Grant, Aisha Mir, L. Perogamvros et al.
Why do we dream? Evolutionary theories suggest that dreams may confer a fitness advantage by simulating real-world challenges. Simulation-based models suggest that dreams serve adaptive functions, including resolving emotional stress and enhancing readiness for waking encounters. From this perspective, evidence of evolutionary pressures reflected in dream content would support the view that...
Nature Communications
August 13, 2025
William Wong, Rubén Herzog, Kátia Cristine Andrade et al.
10 citations
Magneto/electroencephalography (M/EEG) studies of dreaming are an essential paradigm in the investigation of neurocognitive processes of human consciousness during sleep, but they are limited by the number of observations that can be collected per study. Dream research also involves substantial methodological and conceptual variability, which poses problems for the integration of results. To...
Journal of Sleep Research
February 9, 2025
Lampros Perogamvros, Vincent Rochas, Jean‐Baptiste Beau et al.
5 citations
According to some theories of emotion regulation, dreams could modify negative emotions and ultimately reduce their intensity. We introduce here the idea of cathartic dream, a specific and separate type of emotional dream, which is characterized by a dynamic plot with emotional twists, and where negative emotions are expressed and ultimately decreased. This process would reflect psychological...
Scientific Reports
October 2, 2023
David R. Samson, Alice Clerget, Noor H. Abbas et al.
2 citations
The function of dreams is a longstanding scientific research question. Simulation theories of dream function, which are based on the premise that dreams represent evolutionary past selective pressures and fitness improvement through modified states of consciousness, have yet to be tested in cross-cultural populations that include small-scale forager societies. Here, we analyze dream content...
May 16, 2023
William Wong, Kátia C. Andrade, Thomas Andrillon et al.
21 citations
preprint
Magneto/electroencephalography (M/EEG) studies of dreaming are an essential paradigm in the investigation of neurocognitive processes of human consciousness during sleep, but they are limited by the number of observations that can be collected per study. Dream research also involves substantial methodological and conceptual variability, which poses problems for the integration of results. To...
Current biology : CB
November 21, 2022
Sophie Schwartz, Alice Clerget, Lampros Perogamvros
Nightmare disorder (ND) is characterized by dreams with strong negative emotions occurring during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. ND is mainly treated by imagery rehearsal therapy (IRT), where the patients are asked to change the negative story line of their nightmare to a more positive one. We here used targeted memory reactivation (TMR) during REM sleep to strengthen IRT-related memories and...
medRxiv
February 19, 2022
S. Schwartz, Alice Clerget, Lampros Perogamvros
preprint
Background: Nightmare disorder (ND) is characterized by dreams with strong negative emotions occurring during rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep. ND is mainly treated by imagery rehearsal therapy (IRT), where the patients are asked to change the negative story line of their nightmare to a more positive one. Methods: We used targeted memory reactivation (TMR) during REM sleep to strengthen...
iScience
December 25, 2020
Anjali Tarun, Danyal Wainstein Andriano, Virginie Sterpenich et al.
Summary: Functional dissociations in the brain observed during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep have been associated with reduced information integration and impaired consciousness that accompany increasing sleep depth. Here, we explored the dynamical properties of large-scale functional brain networks derived from transient brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Spatial...
Scientific Reports
October 13, 2020
Lucie Bréchet, Denis Brunet, Lampros Perogamvros et al.
92 citations
Why do people sometimes report that they remember dreams, while at other times they recall no experience? Despite the interest in dreams that may happen during the night, it has remained unclear which brain states determine whether these conscious experiences will occur and what prevents us from waking up during these episodes. Here we address this issue by comparing the EEG activity preceding...
NeuroImage. Clinical
2019
Lampros Perogamvros, Hyeong-Dong Park, Laurence Bayer et al.
Nightmares are characterized by the experience of strong negative emotions occurring mainly during REM sleep. Some people suffer from nightmare disorder, which is defined by the repeated occurrence of nightmares and by significant distress in wakefulness. Yet, whether frequent nightmares relate to a general increase in emotional reactivity or arousal during sleep remains unclear. To address...
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
May 31, 2017
Lampros Perogamvros, Benjamin Baird, Mitja Seibold et al.
76 citations
Thoughts occur during wake as well as during dreaming sleep. Using experience sampling combined with high-density EEG, we investigated the phenomenal qualities and neural correlates of spontaneously occurring thoughts across wakefulness, non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, and REM sleep. Across all states, thoughts were associated with activation of a region of the midcingulate cortex....
Psychopathology
2014
Lampros Perogamvros
Philosophers, psychiatrists and neuroscientists have all expressed interest in and formulated hypotheses on the nature of hallucinations, but no sufficient integration of these models exists to this date. The objective of this article is to present a neurophilosophical model of psychosis linking the neurobiology with the phenomenology of hallucinations and delusions. It is proposed that...
Frontiers in Psychology
2013
Lampros Perogamvros, Thien Thanh Dang‐Vu, Martin Desseilles et al.
79 citations
Recent studies in sleep and dreaming have described an activation of emotional and reward systems, as well as the processing of internal information during these states. Specifically, increased activity in the amygdala and across mesolimbic dopaminergic regions during REM sleep is likely to promote the consolidation of memory traces with high emotional/motivational value. Moreover, coordinated...
Vincent Rochas, Kevin Mammeri, Laurence Bayer et al.
preprint
Previous studies on the neural correlates of dreaming using high-density EEG (hdEEG) and the serial awakening paradigm have identified posterior brain regions related to dreaming, with maximal activity over occipital areas. Based on these results, we have hypothesized that neural activity during dreaming is mainly driven by sensory experiences (e.g., vision, audition), which predominate our...