Patterns of Hemispheric Lateralization in Dream Recallers and Non-Dream Recallers
Fabrizio Doricchi, Ilaria Milana, Cristiano Violani
International Journal of Neuroscience 1993 DOI: 10.3109/00207459309003320 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 29 |
| Population | Right-handed female college students, divided into 18 reporting 6 or more dreams per week and 11 reporting 1 or 0 dreams per week |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Citations | 4 |
| Key findings | Low dream recallers showed significant hemispheric asymmetry on both visuo-constructive (right hemisphere advantage) and semantic (left hemisphere advantage) tasks, whereas high dream recallers showed no hemispheric advantage on either task. The two groups did not differ in mean daily sleep time. The authors suggest that dream recallers and non-recallers may be characterized by different patterns of hemispheric lateralization of cognitive skills. |
Abstract
Eighteen right handed females reporting 6 or more dreams per week on a home dream and sleep diary (Dream Recallers: DR), and 11 reporting 1 or 0 dreams per week (Non Dream Recallers: NDR) drawn from a sample of 233 college students, were individually tested on two tasks assessing the hemispheric lateralization of visuo-constructive and verbal-semantic functions. NDR showed a significant degree of hemispheric asymmetry of both visuo-constructive (right asymmetry of both visuo-constructive (right hemisphere advantage) and semantic (left hemisphere advantage) functions. DR showed no hemispheric advantage on both tasks. The two groups of subjects did not differ in mean daily amount of sleep time. In keeping with previous studies showing that NDR have an imbalance of interhemispheric activation upon REM awakenings, results from the present research suggest that DR and NDR can be characterized by a different pattern of hemispheric lateralization of cognitive skills. This finding may stimulate further research aimed at evaluating both the possible existence of differences in the lateralization of functions not considered in this study and the concomitance of REM sleep dependent differences in balance of hemispheric functioning.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lucid Dreaming: a State of Consciousness with Features of Both Waking and Non-Lucid Dreaming Student volunteers trained to become lucid and signal lucidity with horizontal eye... | 2009 | Observational study | n = 6 |
| Nightmare Prevalence, Nightmare Distress, and Self-Reported Psychological Disturbance Young adults with a mean age of 20 years | 2002 | Prospective observational study | n = 116 |
| Long-term effects of extreme situational stress on sleep and dreaming Survivors of traumatic events who complained of sleep disturbances, compared with... | 1987 | Case-control study | n = 11 |
| The relationship of nightmare frequency and nightmare distress to well‐being Adults who reported dreams | 2004 | Observational cohort | n = 147 |
| Dreaming in NREM Sleep: A High-Density EEG Study of Slow Waves and Spindles Healthy human subjects | 2018 | Observational cohort | n = 14 |
Citations in the library
Cites 7
- REM Dreaming and Cognitive Skills at Ages 5-8: A Cross-sectional Study International Journal of Behavioral Development December 1, 1990
- Dream Recall in Patients With Focal Cerebral Lesions Archives of Neurology February 1, 1984
- Hemispheric Differentiation and Dream Recall: Subjective Estimates of Sleep and Dreams in Different Handedness Groups International Journal of Neuroscience 1988
- Cognitive Asymmetry and Dreaming: Lack of Relationship The American Journal of Psychology 1985
- The laterality of dreaming. Brain and Cognition July 1, 1986
and 2 more in the library