REM sleep eye movement counts correlate with visual imagery in dreaming: a pilot study.
C C Hong, S G Potkin, J S Antrobus, B M Dow, G M Callaghan, J C Gillin
Psychophysiology May 1, 1997 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8986.1997.tb02408.x (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Pilot study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 11 |
| Population | One individual |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Key findings | Visual imagery in dreaming was strongly associated with eye movements only in the 1-minute interval immediately preceding awakening. |
Abstract
Based on the findings of our previously published positron emission tomography study, we proposed that recorded eye movements during REM sleep are visually targeted saccades. In the present study, we examined the correlation between the number of eye movements in REM sleep (EM) and visual imagery in dreaming (V) and provided further support for our proposal. All the observations (N = 11) were made with one individual to eliminate interindividual variation and were made during the second REM sleep period to control for a time-of-night effect. V, with or without dream report length partialled out, was strongly associated with EM only in the 1-min interval immediately preceding awakening. The time course of the association suggests that the strong EM-V association reflects a phasic, localized activation of the eye-movement-control system in association with REM sleep eye movements.
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 9
- EEG correlates of emotions in dream narratives from typical young adults and individuals with autistic spectrum disorders Psychophysiology November 28, 2007
- Using Real-time Reporting to Investigate Visual Experiences in Dreams Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience September 30, 2025
- Sleep and dreaming in the light of reactive and predictive homeostasis. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews April 1, 2023
- fMRI Evidence for Default Mode Network Deactivation Associated with Rapid Eye Movements in Sleep. Brain Sciences November 18, 2021
- Rapid Eye Movements in Sleep Furnish a Unique Probe Into Consciousness. Frontiers in Psychology October 31, 2018
and 4 more in the library