Negative emotions in migraineurs dreams: the increased prevalence of oneiric fear and anguish, unrelated to mood disorders.
F De Angeli, C Lovati, L Giani, C Mariotti D'Alessandro, E Raimondi, V Scaglione, D Castoldi, E Capiluppi, C Mariani
Behavioural Neurology June 24, 2014 DOI: 10.1155/2014/919627 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Retrospective questionnaire study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 412 |
| Population | Adults: 219 controls, 148 migraine patients (66 with aura, 82 without aura), and 45 tension-type headache patients |
| Measures | semistructured retrospective self-reported questionnaire on dreams, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) |
| Topics | Anxiety |
| Keywords | Humans Prevalence Retrospective studies Stress, psychological Fear Dreams Middle aged Female Migraine disorders Young adult |
| Key points | Migraine patients reported more anxiety and more frequent fear and anguish during dreaming than controls, independent of anxiety and depression scores. The authors propose this negative dream content may reflect either the burden of recurrent migraine pain or a peculiar activation of mesolimbic structures common to dreaming and migraine attacks. |
Abstract
Background: Migraineurs brain has shown some functional peculiarities that reflect not only in phonophobia, and photophobia, but also in mood and sleep. Dreaming is a universal mental state characterized by hallucinatory features in which imagery, emotion, motor skills, and memory are created de novo. We evaluated dream contents and associated emotions in migraineurs.
Materials and Methods: 412 subjects: 219 controls; and 148 migraineurs (66 with aura, MA; 82 without aura, MO), and 45 tension type headache patients (TTH). A semistructured retrospective self-reported questionnaire was used to evaluate dreams. The Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire (GAD-7), and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) were administered to evaluate anxiety and depression.
Results: Migraineurs showed increased levels of anxiety (P = 0.0002 for MA versus controls, P = 0.004 for MO versus controls). Fear and anguish during dreaming were more frequently reported by migraine patients compared to controls, independently by anxiety and depression scores.
Discussion: The brain of migraineurs seems to dream with some peculiar features, all with a negative connotation, as fear and anguish. It may be due to the recorded negative sensations induced by recurrent migraine pain, but it may just reflect a peculiar attitude of the mesolimbic structures of migraineurs brain, activated in both dreaming and migraine attacks.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on anxiety, most cited first.
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| 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) used in a naturalistic group setting is associated with unintended improvements in depression and anxiety. Adults who used 5-MeO-DMT in a group setting with structured procedures | 2019 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 362 |