Dream Recall upon Awakening from Non-Rapid Eye Movement Sleep in Older Adults: Electrophysiological Pattern and Qualitative Features.
Serena Scarpelli, Aurora D'Atri, Chiara Bartolacci, Maurizio Gorgoni, Anastasia Mangiaruga, Michele Ferrara, Luigi De Gennaro
Brain Sciences June 3, 2020 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci10060343 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Qualitative Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 20 |
| Population | Older adults |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Keywords | EEG Nrem sleep Activation hypothesis Beta Delta Dream report Older adults |
| Key findings | Dream recallers showed higher cortical arousal during NREM sleep than non-recallers, with lower parietal delta power and higher activation index in fronto-temporal and parieto-occipital regions. |
Abstract
Several findings support the activation hypothesis, positing that cortical arousal promotes dream recall (DR). However, most studies have been carried out on young participants, while the electrophysiological (EEG) correlates of DR in older people are still mostly unknown. We aimed to test the activation hypothesis on 20 elders, focusing on the Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) sleep stage. All the subjects underwent polysomnography, and a dream report was collected upon their awakening from NREM sleep. Nine subjects were recallers (RECs) and 11 were non-RECs (NRECs). The delta and beta EEG activity of the last 5 min and the total NREM sleep was calculated by Fast Fourier Transform. Statistical comparisons (RECs vs. NRECs) revealed no differences in the last 5 min of sleep. Significant differences were found in the total NREM sleep: the RECs showed lower delta power over the parietal areas than the NRECs. Consistently, statistical comparisons on the activation index (delta/beta power) revealed that RECs showed a higher level of arousal in the fronto-temporal and parieto-occipital regions than NRECs. Both visual vividness and dream length are positively related to the level of activation. Overall, our results are consistent with the view that dreaming and the storage of oneiric contents depend on the level of arousal during sleep, highlighting a crucial role of the temporo-parietal-occipital zone.
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 20
- What about dreams? State of the art and open questions Journal of Sleep Research April 13, 2022
- The impact of the end of COVID confinement on pandemic dreams, as assessed by a weekly sleep diary: a longitudinal investigation in Italy. Journal of Sleep Research February 1, 2022
- Investigation on Neurobiological Mechanisms of Dreaming in the New Decade Brain Sciences February 11, 2021
- DREAM: A Dream EEG and Mentation database May 16, 2023
- Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Traumatized Us Collectively? The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health and Sleep Factors via Traumatization: A Multinational Survey Nature and Science of Sleep August 1, 2022
and 15 more in the library
Cites 33
- Neural correlates of consciousness: progress and problems Nature Reviews Neuroscience April 20, 2016
- Dreaming in NREM Sleep: A High-Density EEG Study of Slow Waves and Spindles Journal of Neuroscience September 10, 2018
- Lucid Dreaming in Narcolepsy Sleep February 27, 2015
- Amygdala and hippocampus volumetry and diffusivity in relation to dreaming Human Brain Mapping August 25, 2010
- Age changes in dream recall in adulthood. Dreaming March 1, 1996
and 28 more in the library