Weak Electromagnetic Fields Restore Dream Recall in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis
International Journal of Neuroscience 1995 DOI: 10.3109/00207459508994295 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case study Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 4 |
| Population | Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) |
| Intervention | Weak electromagnetic fields (EMFs) |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Citations | 12 |
| Key findings | In four selected MS patients, morning dream recall became infrequent or ceased during the disease course and exacerbations, and dream recall was restored along with improvement in neurological symptoms after external application of weak electromagnetic fields. The author suggests that recurrence of dream recall may be a marker of clinical recovery in MS. |
Abstract
It is now well established that dreaming is a phenomenon associated with REM sleep and that we dream far more than we can recall. Loss of dream recall has been reported in association with cerebral lesions of different sites with predilection to the posterior cerebral hemispheres. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurological disorder characterised by the presence of diffuse pathological lesions affecting cortical, subcortical, and brainstem areas which are implicated in the generation and maintenance of REM sleep as well as dream recall. Although MS is associated with a high incidence of sleep disturbances, little is known about the frequency of dreaming and particularly dream recall in these patients and their association with such features as the course of the disease, extent of neurological deficits, rate of progression, sites of demyelinating plaques on MRI scan, and recovery. In my experience morning dream recall and probably dreaming activity become infrequent with the onset and/or during periods of exacerbation of the disease. The present communication concerns four selected MS patients who experienced alterations in dream content and loss of morning dream recall during the course of the disease. In all patients dream recall was restored, along with improvement in neurological symptoms, following the external application of a series of treatments with weak electromagnetic fields (EMFs). These findings suggest that in MS morning dream recall may decline and cease to occur during the course of the disease. Recurrence of dream recall may be a marker of clinical recovery which can be used to assess neurologic improvement in patients undergoing treatment with experimental treatment modalities.
Comparable studies
Other case reports and case series on dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lucid Dreaming as a Learnable Skill: A Case Study The author | 1980 | Case study | n = 1 |
| Lucid Dreaming as a Treatment for Recurrent Nightmares People with recurrent nightmares | 2010 | Case study | n = 5 |
| Treating Chronic Nightmares of Sexual Assault Survivors with an Intellectual Disability – Two Descriptive Case Studies Adults with learning disabilities suffering from post-traumatic nightmares | 2006 | Case study | n = 2 |
| Lucid dreaming: Correspondence between dreamed and actual events in one subject during rem sleep A lucid dreamer | 1984 | Case study | n = 1 |
| Lucid dreaming treatment for nightmares: A series of cases. Participants with nightmares | 2003 | Case series | n = 8 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
- Dream Recall Frequencies and Dream Content in Wilson’s Disease with and without REM Sleep Behaviour Disorder: A Neurooneirologic Study Behavioural Neurology 2016
- Treatment with weak electromagnetic fields restores dream recall in a parkinsonian patient. International Journal of Neuroscience June 1997