Dreaming without REM sleep.
Delphine Oudiette, Marie-José Dealberto, Ginevra Uguccioni, Jean‐louis Golmard, Milagros Merino-Andreu, Mehdi Tafti, Lucile Garma, Sophie Schwartz, Isabelle Arnulf
Consciousness and Cognition September 1, 2012 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2012.04.010 (opens in new tab) via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractSuppressing REM sleep with the antidepressant clomipramine (50 mg) in 11 healthy young men did not substantially affect dream recall, including report length, complexity, bizarreness, pleasantness, or self-perception of dream or thought-like mentation. REM sleep was suppressed by a marked 81% (range 39-98%). The persistence of long, complex, and bizarre dreams even after partial or total REM suppression suggests that the generation of mental activity during sleep is independent of sleep stage.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial, double-blind crossover Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 11 |
| Population | Healthy young men |
| Intervention | Clomipramine |
| Dose | 50 mg |
| Key finding | REM sleep suppression by clomipramine did not substantially affect dream recall, indicating mental activity during sleep is independent of sleep stage. |
Abstract
To test whether mental activities collected from non-REM sleep are influenced by REM sleep, we suppressed REM sleep using clomipramine 50mg (an antidepressant) or placebo in the evening, in a double blind cross-over design, in 11 healthy young men. Subjects were awakened every hour and asked about their mental activity. The marked (81%, range 39-98%) REM-sleep suppression induced by clomipramine did not substantially affect any aspects of dream recall (report length, complexity, bizarreness, pleasantness and self-perception of dream or thought-like mentation). Since long, complex and bizarre dreams persist even after suppressing REM sleep either partially or totally, it suggests that the generation of mental activity during sleep is independent of sleep stage.