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)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial, double-blind crossover Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 11 |
| Population | Healthy young men |
| Interventions | Clomipramine Placebo |
| Dose | 50 mg |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Key findings | 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.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Efficacy of a Cognitive‐Behavioral Treatment for Insomnia and Nightmares in Afghanistan and Iraq Veterans With PTSD Combat veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom and/or Operation Iraqi Freedom (mean age... | 2013 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 40 |
| Lucid Dreaming Treatment for Nightmares: A Pilot Study Chronic nightmare sufferers | 2006 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 23 |
| Testing the involvement of the prefrontal cortex in lucid dreaming: A tDCS study Participants spending three consecutive nights in a sleep laboratory | 2013 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 19 |
| Pre-sleep treatment with galantamine stimulates lucid dreaming: A double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study Adults with high dream recall and an interest in lucid dreaming | 2018 | Randomized crossover trial | n = 121 |
| Studies with lucid dreaming as add-on therapy to Gestalt therapy Adults with nightmares (ICD-10: F51.5) at least twice a week | 2015 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 32 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 33
- Dreaming as mind wandering: evidence from functional neuroimaging and first-person content reports. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2013
- Dreaming in NREM Sleep: A High-Density EEG Study of Slow Waves and Spindles Journal of Neuroscience September 10, 2018
- What about dreams? State of the art and open questions Journal of Sleep Research April 13, 2022
- Lucid dreaming during NREM sleep: Two case reports heiDOK (Heidelberg University) 2012
- What is sleep exactly? Global and local modulations of sleep oscillations all around the clock. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews December 1, 2023
and 28 more in the library
Cites 11
- Dreaming During Non-rapid Eye Movement Sleep in the Absence of Prior Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Sleep December 1, 2004
- Cognitive Aspects of Mental Activity during Sleep The American Journal of Psychology 1991
- Factors associated with complex visual hallucinations during antidepressant treatment Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental October 19, 2004
- Methodological issues affecting the collection of dreams Journal of Sleep Research March 1, 1993
- Cortical activation patterns herald successful dream recall after NREM and REM sleep. Biological Psychology May 1, 2011
and 6 more in the library