Brain reactivity differentiates subjects with high and low dream recall frequencies during both sleep and wakefulness.
Jean-Baptiste Eichenlaub, Olivier Bertrand, Dominique Morlet, Perrine Ruby
Cerebral Cortex May 1, 2014 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhs388 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 36 |
| Population | Subjects with high and low dream recall frequency |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Keywords | Nrem Rem sleep Auditory p3a Automatic attention orienting Electrophysiology Event-related potentials Functional brain organization |
| Key findings | Brain reactivity to sounds differs between high and low dream recall frequency groups during both wakefulness and sleep, suggesting a trait-like difference in cerebral functional organization. |
Abstract
The neurophysiological correlates of dreaming remain unclear. According to the "arousal-retrieval" model, dream encoding depends on intrasleep wakefulness. Consistent with this model, subjects with high and low dream recall frequency (DRF) report differences in intrasleep awakenings. This suggests a possible neurophysiological trait difference between the 2 groups. To test this hypothesis, we compared the brain reactivity (evoked potentials) of subjects with high (HR, N = 18) and low (LR, N = 18) DRF during wakefulness and sleep. During data acquisition, the subjects were presented with sounds to be ignored (first names randomly presented among pure tones) while they were watching a silent movie or sleeping. Brain responses to first names dramatically differed between the 2 groups during both sleep and wakefulness. During wakefulness, the attention-orienting brain response (P3a) and a late parietal response were larger in HR than in LR. During sleep, we also observed between-group differences at the latency of the P3a during N2 and at later latencies during all sleep stages. Our results demonstrate differences in the brain reactivity of HR and LR during both sleep and wakefulness. These results suggest that the ability to recall dreaming is associated with a particular cerebral functional organization, regardless of the state of vigilance.
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 55
- Dreaming in NREM Sleep: A High-Density EEG Study of Slow Waves and Spindles Journal of Neuroscience September 10, 2018
- Metacognitive Mechanisms Underlying Lucid Dreaming Journal of Neuroscience January 21, 2015
- What about dreams? State of the art and open questions Journal of Sleep Research April 13, 2022
- Characteristics of the memory sources of dreams: A new version of the content-matching paradigm to take mundane and remote memories into account PLoS One October 11, 2017
- Incorporation of recent waking-life experiences in dreams correlates with frontal theta activity in REM sleep Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience May 29, 2018
and 50 more in the library
Cites 14
- Factors of home dream recall: a structural equation model Journal of Sleep Research May 12, 2003
- Experimental Research on Dreaming: State of the Art and Neuropsychoanalytic Perspectives Frontiers in Psychology 2011
- How we remember the stuff that dreams are made of: neurobiological approaches to the brain mechanisms of dream recall. Behavioural Brain Research January 15, 2012
- Dreamed movement elicits activation in the sensorimotor cortex. Current Biology November 8, 2011
- Recalling and forgetting dreams: theta and alpha oscillations during sleep predict subsequent dream recall. Journal of Neuroscience May 4, 2011
and 9 more in the library