Dream enactment behavior—a real nightmare: a review of post-traumatic stress disorder, REM sleep behavior disorder, and trauma-associated sleep disorder
Daniel A. Barone
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine August 17, 2020 DOI: 10.5664/jcsm.8758 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Dreaming PTSD |
| Key findings | Argues that post-traumatic stress disorder, REM sleep behavior disorder, and trauma-associated sleep disorder all involve dream enactment behavior but differ in pathophysiology and underlying mechanisms, and that trauma-associated sleep disorder deserves greater clinical awareness despite sharing diagnostic criteria with REM sleep behavior disorder. |
Abstract
Dream enactment behavior is a phenomenon demonstrated in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder, rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder, as well as with a more recently described condition entitled trauma-associated sleep disorder, which shares diagnostic criteria for rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder. While these conditions share some commonalities, namely dream enactment behavior, they are quite different in pathophysiology and underlying mechanisms. This review will focus on these 3 conditions, with the purpose of increasing awareness for trauma-associated sleep disorder in particular. Barone DA. Dream enactment behavior—a real nightmare: a review of post-traumatic stress disorder, REM sleep behavior disorder, and trauma-associated sleep disorder. J Clin Sleep Med. 2020;16(11):1943–1948.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on PTSD, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychedelic Psychiatry's Brave New World. | 2020 | Review | |
| Reviewing the Potential of Psychedelics for the Treatment of PTSD | 2020 | Review | |
| Novel psychopharmacological therapies for psychiatric disorders: psilocybin and MDMA. | 2016 | Review | |
| MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD: Are memory reconsolidation and fear extinction underlying mechanisms? | 2018 | Review | |
| Clinical applications of hallucinogens: A review. | 2016 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- Dream Enactment Behaviour in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder European Journal of Psychotraumatology January 7, 2025
- Are We Asking the Right Questions? Sex Specificity of Dream Characteristics in Probable Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Behavior Disorder Movement Disorders Clinical Practice August 15, 2025
- Dream-enactment behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic: an international COVID-19 sleep study. Journal of Sleep Research February 2023
- Clinical and polysomnographic features of trauma associated sleep disorder. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine December 1, 2022
- REM sleep, REM parasomnias, REM sleep behaviour disorder. Ideggyogyaszati szemle May 30, 2022
Cites 4
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