White dreams are made of colours: What studying contentless dreams can teach about the neural basis of dreaming and conscious experiences.
Peter Fazekas, Georgina Nemeth, Morten Overgaard
Sleep Medicine Reviews February 1, 2019 DOI: 10.1016/j.smrv.2018.10.005 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Dreaming Lucid dreaming |
| Key findings | White dreams, typically dismissed as forgotten dreams, may reveal fundamental neural processes underlying conscious experience. |
Abstract
Reports of white dreams, the feeling of having had a dream experience without being able to specify this experience any further, make up almost one third of all dream reports, yet this phenomenon-until very recently-had not yet been in the focus of targeted investigations. White dreams are typically interpreted as forgotten dreams, and are sidelined as not being particularly informative with regard to the nature of dreaming. In this review article, we propose a paradigm shift with respect to the status of white dreams arguing that focusing on this phenomenon can reveal fundamental insights about the neural processes that occur in the dreaming brain. As part of this paradigm shift, we propose a novel interpretation of what white dreams are. This new interpretation is made possible by recent advancements in three different though interrelated fields focusing on dreaming, mental imagery, and wakeful perception. In this paper, we bring these different threads together to show how the latest findings from these fields fit together and point towards a general framework regarding the neural underpinnings of conscious experiences that might turn out to be highly relevant not just for dream research but for all aspects of studying consciousness.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The cognitive neuroscience of lucid dreaming | 2019 | Review | |
| Sleep and dreaming are for important matters | 2013 | Review | |
| Nightmare Disorder and Isolated Sleep Paralysis | 2020 | Review | |
| My Dream, My Rules: Can Lucid Dreaming Treat Nightmares? | 2019 | Review | |
| Dream Recall: State or Trait Variable? Part I: Model, Theories, Methodology and Trait Factors | 1996 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 32
- Nondual Awareness and Minimal Phenomenal Experience. Frontiers in Psychology 2020
- How deep is the rift between conscious states in sleep and wakefulness? Spontaneous experience over the sleep–wake cycle Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences December 13, 2020
- The varieties of selflessness Philosophy and the Mind Sciences March 24, 2020
- Combining presleep cognitive training and REM-sleep stimulation in a laboratory morning nap for lucid dream induction. Psychology of Consciousness Theory Research and Practice April 13, 2020
- What is a global state of consciousness? Philosophy and the Mind Sciences December 30, 2020
and 27 more in the library
Cites 35
- Are the Neural Correlates of Consciousness in the Front or in the Back of the Cerebral Cortex? Clinical and Neuroimaging Evidence Journal of Neuroscience October 4, 2017
- Assessing sleep consciousness within subjects using a serial awakening paradigm Frontiers in Psychology 2013
- Early Local Activity in Temporal Areas Reflects Graded Content of Visual Perception. Frontiers in Psychology 2016
- Microdream neurophenomenology. Neuroscience of Consciousness 2017
- Just in Time—Dreamless Sleep Experience as Pure Subjective Temporality Monash University Research Portal 2015
and 30 more in the library