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Partial memory reinstatement while (lucid) dreaming to change the dream environment.

Remington Mallett

Consciousness and Cognition August 1, 2020 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2020.102974 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Qualitative study Peer reviewed
Population Lucid dreamers
Intervention brief exposure to an experimental scene
Topics Dreaming Lucid dreaming
Keywords Context reinstatement Dream control Episodic memory Lucid dreams Memory retrieval Sleep
Citations 14
Key findings Successful dream scene reinstatements were overwhelmingly inaccurate relative to the original experimental scene, even when the dreamer was aware of the inaccuracy during the dream.

Abstract

Lucid dreams often coincide with having control over dream events in real-time, although the limitations of dream control are not completely understood. The current study probed the ability of lucid dreamers to reinstate waking scene memories while dreaming. After brief exposure to an experimental scene, participants were asked to reinstate the scene while lucid dreaming (i.e., change dream scenery to match real-world scene). Qualitative analysis revealed that successful dream scene reinstatements were overwhelmingly inaccurate with respect to the original experimental scene. Importantly, reinstatement inaccuracies held even when the dreamer was aware of them during the dream, suggesting a dissociation between memory access while dreaming and dream imagery. The ability to change the environment of a dream speaks to the high amount of lucid dream control, yet the inaccuracies speak to a lack of detailed control. Reinstating context during lucid sleep offers an experimental method to investigate sleep, dreams, and memory.

Comparable studies

Other qualitative studies on dreaming, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
The Other as a Nightmare: The Israeli-Arab Encounter as Reflected in Children's Dreams in Israel and the West Bank Jewish and Arab fifth to seventh graders living in various settings in Israel and the... 1989 Qualitative content analysis n = 212
Nonwaking Responses to Waking Stressors: Dreams and Nightmares1 Men from the cohort eligible for military duty during the Vietnam Conflict, varying in... 1990 Survey interview study n = 442
Communing with the Gods: The Dreaming Brain in Cross-cultural Perspective 2011 Phenomenological study
Strange themes in pandemic dreams: Insomnia was associated with more negative, anxious and death‐related dreams during the COVID‐19 pandemic Global survey participants 2022 Longitudinal mixed-methods study n = 2,240
Dreamers as agents making strategizing efforts exemplify core aggregate of executive function in non-lucid dreaming Archived cross-cultural dreams 2012 Qualitative study using grounded theory

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