NREM sleep spindles are associated with dream recall
T. Nielsen, M. Carr, C. Blanchette-Carrière, Louis-Philippe Marquis, Gaëlle Dumel, E. Solomonova, S. Julien, C. Picard-Deland, Tyna Paquette
March 1, 2017 DOI: 10.1556/2053.1.2016.003 (opens in new tab) via Semantic Scholar
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractFast sleep spindle density during NREM sleep is positively correlated with dream recall, especially bad dreams and the length of REM dream reports. In 53 healthy adults, fast spindles were most robustly linked to bad dream recall and the number of words in REM dream narratives. The associations varied by sleep cycle: bad dream recall correlated with spindles in cycles 2 and 3, while word count correlated with cycles 1, 4, and 5. Slow spindle density showed an opposite pattern of correlations.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Observational cohort |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 53 |
| Population | Healthy subjects who had participated in a memory consolidation protocol and varied in self-reported recall of dreams and nightmares |
| Keywords | Psychology |
| Key finding | Fast spindle density positively correlated with all measures of dream recall, most robustly with bad dream recall and REM dream word count. |
Abstract
Both rapid eye movement (REM) sleep dreaming and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep spindles have been linked to processes of memory consolidation. However, relationships between the two phenomena have yet to be explored. In a heterogeneous sample of 53 healthy subjects who had participated in a memory consolidation protocol and who varied in their self-reported recall of dreams and nightmares, we assessed overnight polysomnography, N2 sleep spindle density, REM dream word count, and retrospective estimates of how often they recall dreams, bad dreams (dysphoric dreams, no awakening), and nightmares (dysphoric dreams, with awakenings). Fast spindle density positively correlated with all measures of dream recall but was most robustly associated with bad dream recall and REM dream word count. Correlations with bad dream recall were particularly strong for spindles occurring in sleep cycles 2 and 3 and correlations with word count for cycles 1, 4, and 5. While slow spindle density showed opposite correlation...