Dream Recall Frequencies and Dream Content in Wilson’s Disease with and without REM Sleep Behaviour Disorder: A Neurooneirologic Study
Gotthard G. Tribl, Mateus C. Trindade, Michael Schredl, Joana Pires, Iris Reinhard, Thais Bittencourt, Geraldo Lorenzi‐Filho, Rosana Cardoso Alves, Daniel Ciampi de Andrade, Erich Talamoni Fonoff, Edson Bor‐Seng‐Shu, Alexandre Alves Machado, Manoel Jacobsen Teixeira, Egberto Reis Barbosa
Behavioural Neurology 2016 DOI: 10.1155/2016/2983205 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Patients with treated Wilson's disease, with and without RBD, and age- and sex-matched healthy controls |
| Duration | Two-week prospective dream diary |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Keywords | Dream Content measure theory Eye movement Clinical psychology Audiology Psychotherapist |
| Citations | 8 |
| Key findings | Wilson's disease patients with RBD report significantly higher nightmare frequencies and more violent or aggressive dream content than those without RBD. |
Abstract
Objective. Violent dream content and its acting out during rapid eye movement sleep are considered distinctive for rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder (RBD). This study reports first quantitative data on dreaming in a cohort of patients with treated Wilson's disease (WD) and in patients with WD with RBD. Methods. Retrospective questionnaires on different dimensions of dreaming and a prospective two-week home dream diary with self-rating of emotions and blinded, categorical rating of content by an external judge. Results. WD patients showed a significantly lower dream word count and very few other differences in dream characteristics compared to age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Compared to WD patients without RBD, patients with WD and RBD reported significantly higher nightmare frequencies and more dreams with violent or aggressive content retrospectively; their prospectively collected dream reports contained significantly more negative emotions and aggression. Conclusions. The reduction in dream length might reflect specific cognitive deficits in WD. The lack of differences regarding dream content might be explained by the established successful WD treatment. RBD in WD had a strong impact on dreaming. In accordance with the current definition of RBD, violent, aggressive dream content seems to be a characteristic of RBD also in WD.
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 3
- The clinical use of dream content in modern psychiatry Australasian Psychiatry January 2, 2025
- Use of varenicline in smokeless tobacco cessation influences sleep quality and dream recall frequency but not dream affect. Sleep Medicine February 2017
- Does Consciousness Disappear in Dreamless Sleep? Trends in Cognitive Sciences December 1, 2016
Cites 11
- Weak Electromagnetic Fields Restore Dream Recall in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis International Journal of Neuroscience 1995
- Dreaming: a neurological view Schweizer Archiv für Neurologie und Psychiatrie December 7, 2005
- Dreaming furiously? A sleep laboratory study on the dream content of people with Parkinson's disease and with or without rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder. Sleep Medicine January 16, 2015
- Post-amputation pain is associated with the recall of an impaired body representation in dreams-results from a nation-wide survey on limb amputees. PLoS One 2015
- Challenging the myth of REM sleep behavior disorder: no evidence of heightened aggressiveness in dreams. Sleep Medicine April 13, 2012
and 6 more in the library