Delusional confusion of dreaming and reality in narcolepsy.
Erin J. Wamsley, Claire E H M Donjacour, Thomas E Scammell, Gert Jan Lammers, Robert Stickgold
Sleep February 1, 2014 DOI: 10.5665/sleep.3428 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 87 |
| Population | Patients with narcolepsy with cataplexy and age-matched healthy controls |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Keywords | Memory Narcolepsy |
| Key findings | Dream delusions—false memories from vivid dreams leading to sustained false beliefs—are a common and prominent feature of narcolepsy. |
Abstract
We investigated a generally unappreciated feature of the sleep disorder narcolepsy, in which patients mistake the memory of a dream for a real experience and form sustained delusions about significant events. We interviewed patients with narcolepsy and healthy controls to establish the prevalence of this complaint and identify its predictors. Academic medical centers in Boston, Massachusetts and Leiden, The Netherlands. Patients (n = 46) with a diagnosis of narcolepsy with cataplexy, and age-matched healthy healthy controls (n = 41). N/A. "Dream delusions" were surprisingly common in narcolepsy and were often striking in their severity. As opposed to fleeting hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations of the sleep/wake transition, dream delusions were false memories induced by the experience of a vivid dream, which led to false beliefs that could persist for days or weeks. The delusional confusion of dreamed events with reality is a prominent feature of narcolepsy, and suggests the possibility of source memory deficits in this disorder that have not yet been fully characterized.
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 26
- Increased Lucid Dreaming Frequency in Narcolepsy Sleep April 30, 2015
- Benefits and concerns of seeking and experiencing lucid dreams: benefits are tied to successful induction and dream control. SLEEP Advances 2022
- Dream Activity in Narcoleptic Patients During the COVID-19 Lockdown in Italy. Frontiers in Psychology 2021
- To be or not to be hallucinating: Implications of hypnagogic/hypnopompic experiences and lucid dreaming for brain disorders. PNAS Nexus December 19, 2023
- Out-of-body experiences in relation to lucid dreaming and sleep paralysis: A theoretical review and conceptual model. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews August 1, 2024
and 21 more in the library
Cites 3
- REM-dreams recall in patients with narcolepsy-cataplexy. Brain Research Bulletin January 15, 2010
- Psychotic symptoms in narcolepsy: phenomenology and a comparison with schizophrenia. General Hospital Psychiatry 2009
- REM mentation in narcoleptics and normals: an empirical test of two neurocognitive theories. Consciousness and Cognition December 2000