A differentiating empirical linguistic analysis of dreamer activity in reports of EEG-controlled REM-dreams and hypnagogic hallucinations.
Jana Speth, Clemens Frenzel, Ursula Voss
Consciousness and Cognition September 1, 2013 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2013.07.003 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Participants in a sleep laboratory |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Keywords | Dream consciousness Dream reports EEG Linguistic analysis Rem-dream Simulated activity level Sleep stage |
| Key findings | REM-dream reports show significantly higher simulated physical dreamer activity than hypnagogic hallucinations, which are experienced passively. |
Abstract
We present Activity Analysis as a new method for the quantification of subjective reports of altered states of consciousness with regard to the indicated level of simulated motor activity. Empirical linguistic activity analysis was conducted with dream reports conceived immediately after EEG-controlled periods of hypnagogic hallucinations and REM-sleep in the sleep laboratory. Reports of REM-dreams exhibited a significantly higher level of simulated physical dreamer activity, while hypnagogic hallucinations appear to be experienced mostly from the point of passive observer. This study lays the groundwork for clinical research on the level of simulated activity in pathologically altered states of subjective experience, for example in the REM-dreams of clinically depressed patients, or in intrusions and dreams of patients diagnosed with PTSD.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on 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 |
| Nightmare Prevalence, Nightmare Distress, and Self-Reported Psychological Disturbance Young adults with a mean age of 20 years | 2002 | Prospective observational study | n = 116 |
| Long-term effects of extreme situational stress on sleep and dreaming Survivors of traumatic events who complained of sleep disturbances, compared with... | 1987 | Case-control study | n = 11 |
| The relationship of nightmare frequency and nightmare distress to well‐being Adults who reported dreams | 2004 | Observational cohort | n = 147 |
| Dreaming in NREM Sleep: A High-Density EEG Study of Slow Waves and Spindles Healthy human subjects | 2018 | Observational cohort | n = 14 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 12
- Decreased mental time travel to the past correlates with default-mode network disintegration under lysergic acid diethylamide Journal of Psychopharmacology 2016
- Structural differences between REM and non-REM dream reports assessed by graph analysis PLoS One July 23, 2020
- The hypnagogic state: A brief update Journal of Sleep Research August 26, 2022
- Auditory Verbal Experience and Agency in Waking, Sleep Onset, REM, and Non‐REM Sleep Cognitive Science March 22, 2016
- Dream-like mental states can occur during wakefulness. Cell Reports April 7, 2026
and 7 more in the library
Cites 18
- Psychobiology of Altered States of Consciousness. Psychological Bulletin 2005
- Lucid Dreaming: a State of Consciousness with Features of Both Waking and Non-Lucid Dreaming Sleep September 1, 2009
- Lucid dreaming: an age‐dependent brain dissociation Journal of Sleep Research May 29, 2012
- Physical motion in dreams: One measure of three theories. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 1996
- Hypnagogic Imagery and Mescaline Journal of Mental Science 1956
and 13 more in the library