STRUCTURAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN NON-LUCID, LUCID DREAMS AND OUT-OF-BODY EXPERIENCE REPORTS ASSESSED BY GRAPH ANALYSIS
Francisco T Gallo, Ignacio Spiousas, Nerea L Herrero, Daniela Godoy, Antonela Tommasel, Miguel Gasca-Rolín, Rodrigo Ramele, Pablo M Gleiser, Cecilia Forcato
PsyArXiv March 14, 2023 preprint DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/c9ewn (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 60 |
| Population | Participants who kept a dream journal for two months, contributing 916 dream reports |
| Duration | Two months of dream journaling |
| Topics | Lucid dreaming |
| Key findings | Out-of-body experience reports showed a negative slope for graph diameter and average shortest path as the number of nodes increased, a pattern not seen in non-lucid or lucid dreams, and betweenness centrality also showed a pronounced effect. The authors suggest these structural differences may indicate that OBE dreams have a more coherent, unified narrative with certain nodes playing a more central role. |
Abstract
In this study, we examine the structural properties of dream reports that include non-lucid, lucid dreams (LDs) and out-of-body experiences (OBEs). We collected a set of 916 dream reports (728 non-lucid dreams, 122 LDs, 68 OBEs) obtained from 60 participants that kept a dream journal for two months. The collected reports were transformed into directed graphs, where each different word plays the role of a node, and consecutive words are connected by a directed, unweighted edge. We analyzed different network measures to compare the graphs. Overall, correlations between graph attributes and the number of nodes revealed that OBEs showed a negative slope for diameter and ASP, which was not observed in non-LDs or LDs. The slope for betweenness centrality also had a pronounced effect in OBE dreams. These results suggest that OBEs may have unique structural properties compared to other types of dreams, which could provide insight into their nature and potential role in human consciousness. These findings suggest that OBE dreams may have a more coherent and unified narrative, with certain nodes playing a more central role in the overall network.
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 12
- Assessing sleep consciousness within subjects using a serial awakening paradigm Frontiers in Psychology 2013
- Graph analysis of dream reports is especially informative about psychosis Scientific Reports January 15, 2014
- What I make up when I wake up: anti-experience views and narrative fabrication of dreams Frontiers in Psychology 2013
- Structural differences between REM and non-REM dream reports assessed by graph analysis PLoS One July 23, 2020
- Bizarreness of Lucid and Non-lucid Dream: Effects of Metacognition. Frontiers in Psychology 2019
and 7 more in the library