Serotonin and dreaming
Birkhäuser Basel eBooks March 3, 2008 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-7643-8561-3_12 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Dreaming Serotonin |
| Citations | 7 |
| Key findings | Reviews evidence that SSRIs can intensify dreaming despite reducing dream recall frequency, with increased dream intensity during steady-state administration and further increases during acute discontinuation, possibly due to REM rebound and brain activation during sleep. |
Abstract
Many clinical anecdotes and an experimental study have reported intensification of dreaming by the selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). However, no published neurochemical dream model invokes serotonin as a dream-promoting neuromodulator or accounts for serotonergic dream enhancement. An experimental study of normal volunteers showed that, although SSRI treatment decreased dream recall frequency, several subject-rated dream-intensity measures were greater during steady-state drug administration compared with pre-drug baseline and early drug treatment. Additionally, such subject-rated dream intensity as well as dream report length and judge-rated bizarreness were greater during acute discontinuation than during pre-drug baseline and drug administration periods. Nightcap ambulatory monitor data showed increased REM latency during treatment and increased REM density during acute discontinuation, indicative of SSRI-induced REM suppression and REM rebound following drug discontinuation, respectively. The bulk of pharmacological evidence suggests that drugs that enhance serotonergic neurotransmission lighten sleep. Sleep-disruptive effects of SSRIs are accompanied by electroencephalographic and electromyographic signs of brain activation, abnormally prominent eye movements in NREM sleep, and REM rebound following drug discontinuation. Explanations of SSRI-induced dream intensification suggested by these findings include, respectively, generalized brain activation during sleep, enhanced NREM dreaming, and within-night REM rebound. Additional clues as to potential causes of serotonergic dream enhancement are provided by: (i) the cellular pharmacology of hallucinogens that act on 5-HT 2A receptors, (ii) the phenomenological and functional neuroimaging effects of serotonergic hallucinogens, and (iii) putative neurophysiological mechanisms of lesionrelated complex hallucinosis. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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 5
- LSD Increases Primary Process Thinking via Serotonin 2A Receptor Activation Frontiers in Pharmacology November 8, 2017
- Dreams and Psychedelics: Neurophenomenological Comparison and Therapeutic Implications Current Neuropharmacology June 19, 2017
- The neuropharmacology of sleep paralysis hallucinations: serotonin 2A activation and a novel therapeutic drug Psychopharmacology October 4, 2018
- Dreamlike effects of LSD on waking imagery in humans depend on serotonin 2A receptor activation Psychopharmacology July 1, 2017
- Dreaming under antidepressants: a systematic review on evidence in depressive patients and healthy volunteers. Sleep Medicine Reviews April 1, 2013
Cites 10
- Psilocybin induces schizophrenia-like psychosis in humans via a serotonin-2 agonist action Neuroreport December 1, 1998
- Acute psychological and physiological effects of psilocybin in healthy humans: a double-blind, placebo-controlled dose?effect study Psychopharmacology March 1, 2004
- Factors associated with complex visual hallucinations during antidepressant treatment Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental October 19, 2004
- The effect of transdermal nicotine patches on sleep and dreams. Physiology & Behavior June 19, 2006
- Human cognition during REM sleep and the activity profile within frontal and parietal cortices: a reappraisal of functional neuroimaging data. Progress in Brain Research 2005
and 5 more in the library