Targeted memory reactivation has a sleep stage-specific delayed effect on dream content.
Claudia Picard-Deland, Tore Nielsen
Journal of Sleep Research February 1, 2022 DOI: 10.1111/jsr.13391 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 97 |
| Population | Participants who learned a virtual reality flying task |
| Intervention | REM sleep |
| Duration | 10-day home sleep/dream logs |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Keywords | Auditory stimulation Memory consolidation Sleep stages Temporal changes |
| Key findings | Targeted memory reactivation during REM sleep increased task-related dreams 1-2 days later, while cueing during slow-wave sleep increased them 5-6 days later. |
Abstract
Although new learning is known to reappear in later dream scenarios, the timing of such reappearances remains unclear. Sometimes, references to new learning occur relatively quickly, 1 day post-learning (day-residue effect); at other times there may be a substantive delay, 5-7 days, before such references appear (dream-lag effect). We studied temporal delays in dream reactivation following the learning of a virtual reality (VR) flying task using 10-day home sleep/dream logs, and how these might be influenced by targeted memory reactivation (TMR). Participants were exposed twice to a VR task in the sleep laboratory; once before and once after a 2-hr opportunity to nap (n = 65) or to read (n = 32). Auditory cues associated with the VR task were replayed in either wake, rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, slow-wave sleep (SWS) or were not replayed. Although we previously showed that TMR cueing did not have an immediate effect on dream content, in the present study we extend these results by showing that TMR in sleep has instead a delayed effect on task-dream reactivations: participants dreamed more about the task 1-2 days later when TMR was applied in REM sleep and 5-6 days later when it was applied in SWS sleep, compared to participants with no cueing. Findings may help explain the temporal relationships between dream and memory reactivations and clarify the occurrence of day-residue and dream-lag phenomena.
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 12
- Targeted dream incubation at sleep onset increases post-sleep creative performance Scientific Reports May 15, 2023
- Do animals dream? Consciousness and Cognition October 1, 2021
- Memory updating in dreams SLEEP Advances 2024
- Neurophysiological features of dream recall and the phenomenology of dreams: Auditory stimulation impacts dream experiences. Consciousness and Cognition July 1, 2025
- Creative problem-solving after experimentally provoking dreams of unsolved puzzles during REM sleep. Neuroscience of Consciousness 2026
and 7 more in the library
Cites 6
- Flying dreams stimulated by an immersive virtual reality task. Consciousness and Cognition August 1, 2020
- The nature of delayed dream incorporation (‘dream‐lag effect’): Personally significant events persist, but not major daily activities or concerns Journal of Sleep Research April 22, 2018
- Whole-body procedural learning benefits from targeted memory reactivation in REM sleep and task-related dreaming. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory September 1, 2021
- The dream-lag effect: Selective processing of personally significant events during Rapid Eye Movement sleep, but not during Slow Wave Sleep. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory July 1, 2015
- A replication of the 5-7 day dream-lag effect with comparison of dreams to future events as control for baseline matching. Consciousness and Cognition June 1, 2011
and 1 more in the library