Whole-body procedural learning benefits from targeted memory reactivation in REM sleep and task-related dreaming.
Claudia Picard-Deland, Tomy Aumont, Arnaud Samson-Richer, Tyna Paquette, Tore Nielsen
Neurobiology of Learning and Memory September 1, 2021 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2021.107460 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Healthy participants |
| Duration | Morning nap or rest period |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Keywords | Kinesthetic imagery Procedural learning Targeted memory reactivation Virtual reality |
| Key findings | Learning benefits most from TMR when applied in REM sleep compared to a Control-sleep group, and REM dreams reactivating kinesthetic elements of the VR task are associated with higher improvement than dreams reactivating visual elements or no reactivations. |
Abstract
Sleep facilitates memory consolidation through offline reactivations of memory traces. Dreaming may play a role in memory improvement and may reflect these memory reactivations. To experimentally address this question, we used targeted memory reactivation (TMR), i.e., application, during sleep, of a stimulus that was previously associated with learning, to assess whether it influences task-related dream imagery (or task-dream reactivations). Specifically, we asked if TMR or task-dream reactivations in either slow-wave (SWS) or rapid eye movement (REM) sleep benefit whole-body procedural learning. Healthy participants completed a virtual reality (VR) flying task prior to and following a morning nap or rest period during which task-associated tones were readministered in either SWS, REM sleep, wake or not at all. Findings indicate that learning benefits most from TMR when applied in REM sleep compared to a Control-sleep group. REM dreams that reactivated kinesthetic elements of the VR task (e.g., flying, accelerating) were also associated with higher improvement on the task than were dreams that reactivated visual elements (e.g., landscapes) or that had no reactivations. TMR did not itself influence dream content but its effects on performance were greater when coexisting with task-dream reactivations in REM sleep. Findings may help explain the mechanistic relationships between dream and memory reactivations and may contribute to the development of sleep-based methods to optimize complex skill learning.
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 16
- Targeted dream incubation at sleep onset increases post-sleep creative performance Scientific Reports May 15, 2023
- Dreaming of the sleep lab PLoS One October 6, 2021
- Do animals dream? Consciousness and Cognition October 1, 2021
- Enhancing and advancing the understanding and study of dreaming and memory consolidation: Reflections, challenges, theoretical clarity, and methodological considerations Consciousness and Cognition June 27, 2024
- Postural balance in frequent lucid dreamers: a replication attempt. Sleep July 11, 2022
and 11 more in the library
Cites 35
- Dreaming in NREM Sleep: A High-Density EEG Study of Slow Waves and Spindles Journal of Neuroscience September 10, 2018
- Incorporation of concern- and nonconcern-related verbal stimuli into dream content. Journal of Abnormal Psychology February 1, 1981
- Practicing a Motor Task in a Lucid Dream Enhances Subsequent Performance: A Pilot Study The Sport Psychologist June 1, 2010
- Characteristics of the memory sources of dreams: A new version of the content-matching paradigm to take mundane and remote memories into account PLoS One October 11, 2017
- Effectiveness of motor practice in lucid dreams: a comparison with physical and mental practice Journal of Sports Sciences April 7, 2015
and 30 more in the library