Overnight improvements in two REM sleep-sensitive tasks are associated with both REM and NREM sleep changes, sleep spindle features, and awakenings for dream recall.
Tore Nielsen, C O'Reilly, Michelle Carr, Gaëlle Dumel, Isabelle Godin, Elizaveta Solomonova, Jessica Lara-Carrasco, Cloé Blanchette-Carrière, Tyna Paquette
Neurobiology of Learning and Memory July 1, 2015 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2014.09.007 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 22 |
| Population | Participants (7 men) administered Corsi Block Tapping and Tower of Hanoi tasks |
| Duration | A night of sleep |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Keywords | Nrem sleep Sleep spindles Visuospatial memory consolidation |
| Key findings | Overnight Corsi Block improvement was associated with more REM sleep, whereas Tower of Hanoi improvement was associated with more N2 sleep. |
Abstract
Memory consolidation is associated with sleep physiology but the contribution of specific sleep stages remains controversial. To clarify the contribution of REM sleep, participants were administered two REM sleep-sensitive tasks to determine if associated changes occurred only in REM sleep. Twenty-two participants (7 men) were administered the Corsi Block Tapping and Tower of Hanoi tasks prior to and again after a night of sleep. Task improvers and non-improvers were compared for sleep structure, sleep spindles, and dream recall. Control participants (N = 15) completed the tasks twice during the day without intervening sleep. Overnight Corsi Block improvement was associated with more REM sleep whereas Tower of Hanoi improvement was associated with more N2 sleep. Corsi Block improvement correlated positively with %REM sleep and Tower of Hanoi improvement with %N2 sleep. Post-hoc analyses suggest Tower of Hanoi effects-but not Corsi Block effects-are due to trait differences. Sleep spindle density was associated with Tower of Hanoi improvement whereas spindle amplitude correlated with Corsi Block improvement. Number of REM awakenings for dream reporting (but not dream recall per se) was associated with Corsi Block, but not Tower of Hanoi, improvement but was confounded with REM sleep time. This non-replication of one of 2 REM-sensitive task effects challenges both 'dual-process' and 'sequential' or 'sleep organization' models of sleep-dependent learning and points rather to capacity limitations on REM sleep. Experimental awakenings for sampling dream mentation may not perturb sleep-dependent learning effects; they may even enhance them.
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 8
- Dreaming of the sleep lab PLoS One October 6, 2021
- Imagetic and affective measures of memory reverberation diverge at sleep onset in association with theta rhythm Neuroimage October 17, 2022
- Dream Content and Procedural Learning in Vipassana Meditators and Controls Dreaming June 1, 2018
- NREM sleep spindles are associated with dream recall March 1, 2017
- Does Consciousness Disappear in Dreamless Sleep? Trends in Cognitive Sciences December 1, 2016
and 3 more in the library