Activation of brain-heart axis during REM sleep: a trigger for dreaming.
Mimma Nardelli, Vincenzo Catrambone, Giulia Grandi, Tommaso Banfi, Rosa Maria Bruno, Enzo Pasquale Scilingo, Ugo Faraguna, Gaetano Valenza
American Journal of Physiology. Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology December 1, 2021 DOI: 10.1152/ajpregu.00306.2020 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 9 |
| Population | Healthy volunteers |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Keywords | Autonomic nervous system Brain-heart interaction Dreams Electroencephalography Rapid eye movement |
| Key findings | Bodily changes, particularly blood pressure dynamics and neural heartbeat regulation, play a crucial and causative role in conscious dream experiences during REM sleep. |
Abstract
Dreams may be recalled after awakening from sleep following a defined electroencephalographic pattern that involves local decreases in low-frequency activity in the posterior cortical regions. Although a dreaming experience implies bodily changes at many organ, system, and timescale levels, the entity and causal role of such peripheral changes in a conscious dream experience are unknown. We performed a comprehensive, causal, multivariate analysis of physiological signals acquired during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep at night, including high-density electroencephalography and peripheral dynamics including electrocardiography and blood pressure. In this preliminary study, we investigated multiple recalls and nonrecalls of dream experiences using data from nine healthy volunteers. The aim was not only to investigate the changes in central and autonomic dynamics associated with dream recalls and nonrecalls, but also to characterize the central-peripheral dynamical and (causal) directional interactions, and the temporal relations of the related arousals upon awakening. We uncovered a brain-body network that drives a conscious dreaming experience that acts with specific interaction and time delays. Such a network is sustained by the blood pressure dynamics and the increasing functional information transfer from the neural heartbeat regulation to the brain. We conclude that bodily changes play a crucial and causative role in a conscious dream experience during REM sleep.
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 2
Cites 8
- Dreams and nightmares in healthy adults and in patients with sleep and neurological disorders. Lancet Neurology October 1, 2020
- Increased heartbeat-evoked potential during REM sleep in nightmare disorder. NeuroImage: Clinical 2019
- The neural correlates of dreaming. Nature Neuroscience April 10, 2017
- Electroencephalographic and autonomic alterations in subjects with frequent nightmares during pre-and post-REM periods. Brain and Cognition November 1, 2014
- Dreaming and the brain: from phenomenology to neurophysiology. Trends in Cognitive Sciences January 14, 2010
and 3 more in the library