Enhancing and advancing the understanding and study of dreaming and memory consolidation: Reflections, challenges, theoretical clarity, and methodological considerations
Anthony Bloxham, Caroline L. Horton
Consciousness and Cognition June 27, 2024 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2024.103719 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Keywords | Clarity Memory consolidation Consolidation business Dream Empirical research Cognitive science Cognitive psychology Epistemology |
| Citations | 11 |
| Key points | Proposes that Targeted Memory Reactivation (TMR) can help clarify whether dream content is linked to specific cued memory activations, and that methodological improvements are needed to study the relationship between dreaming and memory consolidation. |
Abstract
Empirical investigations that search for a link between dreaming and sleep-dependent memory consolidation have focused on testing for an association between dreaming of what was learned, and improved memory performance for learned material. Empirical support for this is mixed, perhaps owing to the inherent challenges presented by the nature of dreams, and methodological inconsistencies. The purpose of this paper is to address critically prevalent assumptions and practices, with the aim of clarifying and enhancing research on this topic, chiefly by providing a theoretical synthesis of existing models and evidence. Also, it recommends the method of Targeted Memory Reactivation (TMR) as a means for investigating if dream content can be linked to specific cued activations. Other recommendations to enhance research practice and enquiry on this subject are also provided, focusing on the HOW and WHY we search for memory sources in dreams, and what purpose (if any) they might serve.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dreaming: a conceptual framework for philosophy of mind and empirical research | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Metaphor and hyperassociativity: the imagination mechanisms behind emotion assimilation in sleep and dreaming | 2015 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Varieties of Lucid Dreaming Experience | 2000 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Experimental Research on Dreaming: State of the Art and Neuropsychoanalytic Perspectives | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Neurobiology of Consciousness: Lucid Dreaming Wakes Up | 2009 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 7
- Sustaining transformations in psychoanalysis: an interdisciplinary case study on trauma, dreams, and memory reconsolidation Frontiers in Psychology April 28, 2026
- Individual traits and experiences predict the content of dreams Communications Psychology April 28, 2026
- Neurophysiological features of dream recall and the phenomenology of dreams: Auditory stimulation impacts dream experiences. Consciousness and Cognition July 1, 2025
- Creative problem-solving after experimentally provoking dreams of unsolved puzzles during REM sleep. Neuroscience of Consciousness 2026
- Investigating dreams by strategically presenting sounds during REM sleep to reactivate waking experiences. Neuropsychologia October 10, 2025
and 2 more in the library
Cites 74
- Dreaming as mind wandering: evidence from functional neuroimaging and first-person content reports. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2013
- Assessing sleep consciousness within subjects using a serial awakening paradigm Frontiers in Psychology 2013
- Dreaming in NREM Sleep: A High-Density EEG Study of Slow Waves and Spindles Journal of Neuroscience September 10, 2018
- Factors of home dream recall: a structural equation model Journal of Sleep Research May 12, 2003
- Incorporation of concern- and nonconcern-related verbal stimuli into dream content. Journal of Abnormal Psychology February 1, 1981
and 69 more in the library