ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF CONSCIOUS EXPERIENCES DURING SLEEP: LUCID DREAMS, SLEEP PARALYSIS, OUT-OF-BODY EXPERIENCES, AND FALSE AWAKENINGS
Nerea L Herrero, Yohann Corfdir, Aylin A Vázquez-Chenlo, Lucila Capurro, Cecilia Forcato
bioRxiv February 12, 2025 preprint DOI: 10.1101/2025.02.10.637510 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study |
|---|---|
| Population | Frequent experiencers of conscious sleep states |
| Duration | Overnight polysomnography |
| Topics | Lucid dreaming |
| Key findings | Conscious sleep states such as lucid dreams, sleep paralysis, out-of-body experiences, and false awakenings are electrophysiologically distinct from wakefulness but share features with stage 1 and REM sleep. The authors report the first documented eye movement markers during false awakenings and out-of-body experiences. |
Abstract
Consciousness does not always fade during sleep. Instead, it can re-emerge, giving rise to lucid dreams (LDs), sleep paralysis (SP), out-of-body experiences (OBEs), and false awakenings (FAs). While some of these states have been studied phenomenologically, their neurophysiological underpinnings remain unclear. Here, we investigate their electrophysiological correlates and distinguish them from standard sleep stages. We conducted overnight polysomnography in frequent experiencers, capturing 10 episodes (3 LDs, 2 SP, 2 OBEs, 3 FAs). Eye movement markers identified periods of lucidity. Relative spectral power was analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA) and permutation-based multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA). Our results indicate that these conscious sleep states are distinct from wakefulness, yet share features with both stage 1 (S1) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Notably, we provide the first documented eye movement markers during FAs and OBEs.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on lucid dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lucid Dreaming: a State of Consciousness with Features of Both Waking and Non-Lucid Dreaming Student volunteers trained to become lucid and signal lucidity with horizontal eye... | 2009 | Observational study | n = 6 |
| Neural Correlates of Dream Lucidity Obtained from Contrasting Lucid versus Non-Lucid REM Sleep: A Combined EEG/fMRI Case Study Experienced lucid dreamers | 2012 | Observational cohort | n = 4 |
| Real-time dialogue between experimenters and dreamers during REM sleep. Individuals during REM sleep, including frequent lucid dreamers, a novice, and a... | 2021 | Observational study | n = 36 |
| Lucid Dreaming in Narcolepsy Consecutive patients with narcolepsy and healthy controls | 2015 | Case-control study | n = 106 |
| Metacognitive Mechanisms Underlying Lucid Dreaming Human participants split into high- and low-lucidity groups based on reported dream... | 2015 | Observational cohort |
Citations in the library
Cites 23
- Neural correlates of consciousness: progress and problems Nature Reviews Neuroscience April 20, 2016
- Out‐of‐body experience and autoscopy of neurological origin Brain January 15, 2004
- The Out-of-Body Experience: Disturbed Self-Processing at the Temporo-Parietal Junction The Neuroscientist January 4, 2005
- Lucid Dreaming: a State of Consciousness with Features of Both Waking and Non-Lucid Dreaming Sleep September 1, 2009
- Neural correlates of the DMT experience assessed with multivariate EEG. Scientific Reports November 19, 2019
and 18 more in the library