The role of the basolateral amygdala in dreaming.
Yvonne Blake, David Terburg, Ross Balchin, Jack Van Honk, Mark Solms
Cortex December 25, 2018 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2018.12.016 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case-control study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 25 |
| Population | Eight adult patients with bilateral basolateral amygdala calcification due to Urbach-Wiethe Disease and 17 matched controls |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Keywords | Humans Brain diseases Calcinosis Affect Dreams Adult Middle aged Female Basolateral nuclear complex Amygdala Urbach-wiethe disease |
| Key findings | Dream reports from patients with bilateral basolateral amygdala calcification were significantly more pleasant and significantly shorter and less complex than those of matched controls, with no difference in threat or danger levels. The authors argue these results support some current hypotheses about the amygdala's role in dreaming while calling others into question. |
Abstract
Neuroimaging studies have repeatedly shown amygdala activity during sleep (REM and NREM). Consequently, various theorists propose central roles for the amygdala in dreaming - particularly in the generation of dream affects, which seem to play a major role in dream plots. However, a causal role for the amygdala in dream phenomena has never been demonstrated. The traditional first step in determining this role is to observe the functional effects of isolated lesions to the brain structure in question. However, circumscribed bilateral amygdala lesions are extremely rare. Furthermore, the treatment of the amygdala as a unitary structure is problematic, as the basolateral and centromedial amygdala (BLA and CMA) may serve very different functions. We analysed 23 dream reports collected from eight adult patients with bilateral calcification of the BLA as a result of a very rare genetic condition called Urbach-Wiethe Disease (UWD). We compared these dream reports to 52 reports collected from 17 matched controls. Given that the BLA has been implicated in various affective processes in waking life, we predicted that the emotional content of the patients' dreams would differ from that of controls. Due to the exploratory nature of this research, a range of different dream characteristics were analysed. A principal components analysis run on all data returned three key factors, namely pleasantness, length and danger. The UWD patients' dream reports were significantly more pleasant and significantly shorter and less complex than control reports. No differences were found in levels of threat or danger. The results support some current hypotheses concerning the amygdala's role in dreaming, and call others into question. Future research should examine whether these UWD patients show generally impaired emotional episodic memory due to BLA damage, which could explain some of the current findings.
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
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- The clinical neuroscience of lucid dreaming. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews January 14, 2025
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Cites 15
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- Metaphor and hyperassociativity: the imagination mechanisms behind emotion assimilation in sleep and dreaming Frontiers in Psychology August 18, 2015
- Amygdala and hippocampus volumetry and diffusivity in relation to dreaming Human Brain Mapping August 25, 2010
- Characteristics of the memory sources of dreams: A new version of the content-matching paradigm to take mundane and remote memories into account PLoS One October 11, 2017
and 10 more in the library