Waking-hour cerebral activations in nightmare disorder: A resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study.
Chanchan Shen, Jiawei Wang, Guorong Ma, Qisha Zhu, Hongjian He, Qiuping Ding, Hongying Fan, Yanxia Lu, Wei Wang
Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences December 1, 2016 DOI: 10.1111/pcn.12455 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case-control study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 30 |
| Population | Nightmare disorder patients and healthy volunteers |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Keywords | Anterior cingulate cortex Emotion Hypervigilance Parietal lobule |
| Key findings | Nightmare disorder patients had higher regional homogeneity in the left anterior cingulate cortex and right inferior parietal lobule, and lower regional homogeneity in left frontal and bilateral occipital regions, with correlations between brain activity and nightmare-related physical effect. |
Abstract
The purpose of the current study was to explore the cerebral areas involved in nightmare disorder. Fifteen nightmare disorder patients and 15 healthy volunteers were invited to undergo resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and to complete the Nightmare Experience Questionnaire. The nightmare disorder patients scored higher on the Physical Effect and Horrible Stimulation scales, had higher values of regional homogeneity in clusters within the left anterior cingulate cortex and right inferior parietal lobule, and lower regional homogeneity values within the left superior and inferior frontal gyri and bilateral middle occipital gyri. Physical Effect was negatively correlated with regional homogeneity values in anterior cingulate cortex and inferior parietal lobule in the nightmare disorder group, and was positively correlated with regional homogeneity value in the inferior frontal gyrus in the healthy control group. To our best knowledge, this is the first neuroimaging study on nightmare disorder, and we have characterized the cerebral activities underlying altered hyperarousal and emotion regulation in nightmare disorder at resting-state.
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 15
- Nightmare Disorder and Isolated Sleep Paralysis Neurotherapeutics November 23, 2020
- Prevalence and Detailed Experience of Nightmare and Nightmare Disorder in Chinese University Students Sage Open April 1, 2021
- Local Neuronal Synchronization in Frequent Nightmare Recallers and Healthy Controls: A Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study Frontiers in Neuroscience March 18, 2021
- The Relationship between Nightmare Experience and Athletes’ Personality Traits and Anxiety International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health October 8, 2022
- Are we just dreaming? Research Directions Sleep Psychology 2025
and 10 more in the library
Cites 7
- Nightmare Prevalence, Nightmare Distress, and Self-Reported Psychological Disturbance Sleep 2002
- Nightmare in schizophrenic and depressed patients The European Journal of Psychiatry September 1, 2009
- Phenomenal qualities of nightmare experience in a prospective study of college students. Dreaming June 1, 2002
- Electroencephalographic and autonomic alterations in subjects with frequent nightmares during pre-and post-REM periods. Brain and Cognition November 1, 2014
- Cognitive and emotional processes during dreaming: a neuroimaging view. Consciousness and Cognition December 2011
and 2 more in the library