The electrophysiological correlates of dream recall and nonrecall from Stage 2 sleep.
Christine R. Morel, Robert Hoffmann, Alan R. Moffitt
Canadian Journal of Psychology/Revue Canadienne de Psychologie June 1, 1991 DOI: 10.1037/h0084276 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 40 |
| Population | People whose EEG was recorded during Stage 2 sleep and who were awakened to test dream recall |
| Measures | Electroencephalographic (EEG) measures, including sigma (12-16 Hz) frequency band and hemispheric asymmetry; muscle activity |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Citations | 18 |
| Key findings | Recall and nonrecall groups differed at the post-awakening and pre-awakening-to-post-awakening intervals on muscle activity and time spent in the sigma (12-16 Hz) band, but not on hemispheric asymmetry measures. The authors report that the findings generally do not support the hypothesis linking increased dream recall to increased cortical activation before awakening, though the groups showed different arousal patterns during the transition from sleep to wakefulness. |
Abstract
This research examined the relationship between cortical activation, defined by electroencephalographic (EEG) measures, and the ability to recall dreams following awakenings from Stage 2 sleep. Period-analyzed EEG data from 40 subjects were examined for the preawakening, postawakening, and preawakening-to-postawakening time intervals. Recall differed from nonrecall at the postawakening and preawakening-to-postawakening periods on measures of muscle activity and time spent in the sigma (12-16 Hz) frequency band. There were no distinctions in recall ability on EEG hemispheric asymmetry measures. Generally, the findings do not support the hypothesis linking increased recall ability to increases in cortical activation prior to awakening. However, the recall groups depicted a different pattern of arousal in their transition from sleep to wakefulness.
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 |
| The prevalence of nightmares and their independence from anxiety. Undergraduates | 1990 | Observational study using daily dream logs | n = 220 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 7
- DREAM: A Dream EEG and Mentation database May 16, 2023
- A dream EEG and mentation database. Nature Communications August 13, 2025
- Fréquence et contenu du rapport de rêve : approches comportementales et neurophysiologiques HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) December 8, 2017
- Brain functional connectivity upon awakening from sleep predicts interindividual differences in dream recall frequency. Sleep December 14, 2020
- Dreaming and electroencephalographic changes during anesthesia maintained with propofol or desflurane. Anesthesiology September 1, 2009
and 2 more in the library