Pre-sleep experiences shape neural activity and dream content in the sleeping brain
Deniz Kumral, Jessica Palmieri, Steffen Gais, Monika Schönauer
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study |
|---|---|
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Key findings | Neural reinstatement of audiobook content during REM sleep was associated with dreaming of that content, but not with memory retention, while global beta power during REM sleep was linked to better memory performance. |
Abstract
Summary Dreams incorporate recent experiences, and memory-related brain activity is reactivated during sleep, suggesting that dreaming, memory consolidation and reactivation are tightly linked. We devised a paradigm to investigate whether memory reprocessing during sleep contributes to dreaming. Participants listened to different audiobooks before falling asleep, introducing dissimilar experiences to be processed at night. We show that audiobook content was reprocessed at the neural level using multivariate pattern analyses. Brain activity during rapid eye movement sleep, particularly in the beta range, carried information about the audiobook. While the amount of neural reinstatement did not correlate with memory retention, global beta power during REM sleep was associated with better memory performance. Moreover, blind raters could determine which audiobook participants had studied based on dream reports. Participants who dreamt of the audiobook also showed stronger neural reinstatement. Reprocessing of pre-sleep experiences during sleep may thus shape our brain activity, our dreams, and our memories.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lucid Dreaming Verified by Volitional Communication during Rem Sleep Selected subjects proficient in lucid dreaming | 1981 | Experimental study | n = 5 |
| Incorporation of concern- and nonconcern-related verbal stimuli into dream content. Seven male subjects studied during sleep Stages 2 and REM | 1981 | Experimental study | n = 7 |
| Lucid Dreaming and Alpha Activity: A Preliminary Report Good dream recallers | 1982 | Experimental study | n = 10 |
| Lucid dreaming during NREM sleep: Two case reports | 2012 | Sleep laboratory study | |
| The Dream Catcher experiment: blinded analyses failed to detect markers of dreaming consciousness in EEG spectral power. Human participants during sleep | 2020 | Experimental study with blinded classification | n = 9 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 4
- Enhancing and advancing the understanding and study of dreaming and memory consolidation: Reflections, challenges, theoretical clarity, and methodological considerations Consciousness and Cognition June 27, 2024
- Nightly dynamics of emotional content in dreams bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) June 28, 2025
- Neurophysiological features of dream recall and the phenomenology of dreams: Auditory stimulation impacts dream experiences. Consciousness and Cognition July 1, 2025
- Exploring the role of dreams: insights from recent studies. Current opinion in pulmonary medicine November 1, 2024
Cites 14
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- Memory reactivations during sleep: a neural basis of dream experiences? March 6, 2023
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and 9 more in the library