Dreaming

Lucid dreaming shows REM-like delta and theta power, higher gamma power peaking around 40 Hz, and overall coherence similar to waking but higher than REM sleep, with largest coherence in frontal areas.

observational study Sample size: 6

Individual differences in daydreaming frequency are negatively correlated with static functional connectivity but positively correlated with dynamic functional connectivity variability within a ventral default mode network subsystem.

observational cohort

Dreaming can be understood as an intensified version of waking mind wandering, sharing many experiential and neural features but with deeper prefrontal deactivation and more immersive content.

systematic review with meta-analytic comparison

Lucid dreaming was verified in five subjects who signaled awareness of dreaming during REM sleep, enabling a new approach to dream research.

experimental study Sample size: 5

Prefrontal and parietal regions are likely involved in lucid dreaming, but evidence from electroencephalographic and neuroimaging studies is limited and mixed.

review

Chronic nightmares develop through the interaction of elevated hyperarousal and impaired fear extinction.

consensus paper

Lucid dreaming treatment reduced nightmare frequency, but lucidity was not necessary for the reduction.

randomized controlled trial Sample size: 23

Dreaming during NREM sleep is associated with fewer, smaller, and shallower slow waves and faster spindles in central and posterior cortical areas, while a minority of very large, steep frontal slow waves with local microarousals precede successful dream recall.

observational cohort Sample size: 14

Personality, creativity, nocturnal awakenings, and attitude toward dreams together explained only 8.4% of the variance in dream recall frequency, with each factor explaining less than 3% individually.

cross-sectional survey with structural equation modeling Sample size: 444

A mnemonic technique (MILD) produced an average of 21.5 lucid dreams per month, far more than auto-suggestion (average 5.4) or no technique (fewer than 1 per month).

case study Sample size: 1

Argues that a philosophical analysis of the concept of dreaming, informed by empirical research, can enrich and extend the conceptual repertoire for discussions of consciousness and the self.

theoretical or philosophical paper

Lucid dream induction eliminated or reduced recurrent nightmares in all five cases, with four of five nightmare-free at one-year follow-up.

case study Sample size: 5

Narcolepsy patients report significantly more frequent lucid dreams than healthy controls, and some can reliably signal from lucid REM sleep during naps.

case-control study Sample size: 106

Among all psychoactive substances, hallucinogens elicit experiences with the highest semantic similarity to dreams, particularly high-lucidity dreams for LSD and low-lucidity dreams for Datura.

comparative semantic analysis

Lucid dreams most often originate spontaneously in adolescence, average about 14 minutes, and dreamers are typically active but often fail to execute planned actions.

online survey Sample size: 684

Nightmares were highly prevalent among patients during a suicidal crisis, emerging weeks to months before the acute episode, and suicidal-themed nightmares appeared closer to the crisis onset.

prospective study Sample size: 42

Frequent nightmares are associated with higher prevalence of hypertension and diabetes, with a multivariable-adjusted odds ratio for hypertension of 2.53 in the second follow-up.

observational cohort Sample size: 4223

Anaesthesia dreaming is common, predominantly positive, pharmacologically specific, and not associated with intraoperative awareness.

scoping review Sample size: 87866

Lucid dreaming frequency was associated with a joint grey-matter and white-matter component in frontal, temporal, parietal, and cerebellar regions and a grey-matter-specific component in visual and attentional areas, while ordinary dream recall was linked only to white-matter-specific components.

exploratory study

Argues that a philosophical analysis of the concept of dreaming, informed by empirical research, can enrich and extend the conceptual repertoire for discussions of consciousness and the self.

theoretical or philosophical paper

Topological features from EEG, specifically dynamic Betti curves, are projected to outperform power spectral density and catch22 benchmarks for dream detection, targeting AUC = 0.82–0.90.

preprint Sample size: 1462

Within-person associations between nightmares and PTSD symptoms were not significant after adjusting for autoregressive effects, but between-person associations showed that individuals with frequent nightmares had higher PTSD symptoms.

observational cohort Sample size: 54

More frequent dream recall is associated with a higher likelihood of dream-reality confusion.

population-based survey Sample size: 4961

Induced dissociation affected the consolidation of episodic memory but not autobiographical, procedural, or working memory capacity or dreaming.

experimental study with two studies: pilot (between-subjects) and main (within-subjects with control condition) Sample size: 74

Galvanic vestibular stimulation during REM sleep was associated with increased lucid awareness, while electrical muscle stimulation was not.

randomized controlled trial Sample size: 28