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Sharon O, Ben Simon E, Shah VD, Desel T, Walker MP. The new science of sleep: From cells to large-scale societies. PLoS Biol 2024; 22:e3002684. [PMID: 38976664 PMCID: PMC11230563 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/10/2024] Open
Abstract
In the past 20 years, more remarkable revelations about sleep and its varied functions have arguably been made than in the previous 200. Building on this swell of recent findings, this essay provides a broad sampling of selected research highlights across genetic, molecular, cellular, and physiological systems within the body, networks within the brain, and large-scale social dynamics. Based on this raft of exciting new discoveries, we have come to realize that sleep, in this moment of its evolution, is very much polyfunctional (rather than monofunctional), yet polyfunctional for reasons we had never previously considered. Moreover, these new polyfunctional insights powerfully reaffirm sleep as a critical biological, and thus health-sustaining, requisite. Indeed, perhaps the only thing more impressive than the unanticipated nature of these newly emerging sleep functions is their striking divergence, from operations of molecular mechanisms inside cells to entire group societal dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Omer Sharon
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, California, United States of America
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, California, United States of America
| | - Eti Ben Simon
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, California, United States of America
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, California, United States of America
| | - Vyoma D. Shah
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, California, United States of America
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, California, United States of America
| | - Tenzin Desel
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, California, United States of America
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, California, United States of America
| | - Matthew P. Walker
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, California, United States of America
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, California, United States of America
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2
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Ficca G, De Rosa O, Giangrande D, Mazzei T, Marzolo S, Albinni B, Coppola A, Lustro A, Conte F. Quantitative-Qualitative Assessment of Dream Reports in Schizophrenia and Their Correlations with Illness Severity. Brain Sci 2024; 14:568. [PMID: 38928568 PMCID: PMC11201908 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14060568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2024] [Revised: 05/27/2024] [Accepted: 05/29/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Positive symptoms of schizophrenia have been proposed to be an intrusion of dreaming in wakefulness; conversely, psychotic patients' abnormal cognitive and behavioral features could overflow into sleep, so that their dreams would differ from those of healthy people. Here we assess this hypothesis by comparing dream features of 46 patients affected by schizophrenic spectrum disorders to those of 28 healthy controls. In patients, we also investigated correlations of dream variables with symptom severity and verbal fluency. Overall, patients reported fewer and shorter dreams, with a general impoverishment of content (including characters, settings, interactions) and higher spatiotemporal bizarreness. The number of emotions, mainly negative ones, was lower in patients' reports and correlated inversely with symptom severity. Verbal fluency correlated positively with dream report length and negatively with perceptive bizarreness. In conclusion, our data show a significant impoverishment of dream reports in psychotic patients versus controls. Future research should investigate to what extent this profile of results depends on impaired verbal fluency or on impaired mechanisms of dream generation in this population. Moreover, in line with theories on the role of dreaming in emotion regulation, our data suggest that this function could be impaired in psychoses and related to symptom severity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gianluca Ficca
- Department of Psychology, University of Campania “L. Vanvitelli”, 81100 Caserta, Italy; (G.F.); (O.D.R.); (D.G.); (T.M.); (B.A.); (A.C.); (A.L.)
| | - Oreste De Rosa
- Department of Psychology, University of Campania “L. Vanvitelli”, 81100 Caserta, Italy; (G.F.); (O.D.R.); (D.G.); (T.M.); (B.A.); (A.C.); (A.L.)
- Dermatology Unit, Department of Mental and Physical Health and Preventive Medicine, University of Campania “L. Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy
| | - Davide Giangrande
- Department of Psychology, University of Campania “L. Vanvitelli”, 81100 Caserta, Italy; (G.F.); (O.D.R.); (D.G.); (T.M.); (B.A.); (A.C.); (A.L.)
| | - Tommaso Mazzei
- Department of Psychology, University of Campania “L. Vanvitelli”, 81100 Caserta, Italy; (G.F.); (O.D.R.); (D.G.); (T.M.); (B.A.); (A.C.); (A.L.)
- Residential Community for Therapy and Rehabilitation “Al di là dei sogni (Beyond Dreams)”, 81037 Sessa Aurunca, Italy;
| | - Salvatore Marzolo
- Residential Community for Therapy and Rehabilitation “Al di là dei sogni (Beyond Dreams)”, 81037 Sessa Aurunca, Italy;
- Mental Health Unit 15, Local Health Authority 1, 81016 Piedimonte Matese, Italy
| | - Benedetta Albinni
- Department of Psychology, University of Campania “L. Vanvitelli”, 81100 Caserta, Italy; (G.F.); (O.D.R.); (D.G.); (T.M.); (B.A.); (A.C.); (A.L.)
| | - Alessia Coppola
- Department of Psychology, University of Campania “L. Vanvitelli”, 81100 Caserta, Italy; (G.F.); (O.D.R.); (D.G.); (T.M.); (B.A.); (A.C.); (A.L.)
| | - Alessio Lustro
- Department of Psychology, University of Campania “L. Vanvitelli”, 81100 Caserta, Italy; (G.F.); (O.D.R.); (D.G.); (T.M.); (B.A.); (A.C.); (A.L.)
| | - Francesca Conte
- Department of Psychology, University of Campania “L. Vanvitelli”, 81100 Caserta, Italy; (G.F.); (O.D.R.); (D.G.); (T.M.); (B.A.); (A.C.); (A.L.)
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Al-Juhani A, Alzahrani MJ, Abdullah A Z, Alnefaie AN, Alnowaisser LN, Alhadi W, Alghamdi JK, Bauthman MS. Neuroimaging and Brain-Based Markers Identifying Neurobiological Markers Associated With Criminal Behaviour, Personality Disorders, and Mental Health: A Narrative Review. Cureus 2024; 16:e58814. [PMID: 38784339 PMCID: PMC11113083 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.58814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/23/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
We begin the review by pointing to the common stigma associated with mental health issues, which often derives from a lack of understanding or incomplete knowledge. Neurobiological research provides us with a new lens to help challenge and dispel common assumptions and misunderstandings and gives an understanding of sexual behaviours that influence society. As such, it generates substantial evidence for the structural and functional asymmetry of the brains of individuals with mental disorders. However, this type of representation poses many challenges to traditional thinking and constantly provokes change in perspective and empathy towards those individuals. In the review, we go deeper into the effects of neurobiological findings on understanding criminal behaviours and personality disorders, looking further beyond behavioural health. These problems, which were once mainly discussed as moral ones or viewed from the perspective of character flaws, are analysed today through neurological considerations pointing to their complexity. When the root of bipolar disorder is revealed to be neurological, society will react with more information and understanding, hence reducing the stigmatisation and discrimination meted out to people with these problems. At a macro level, findings from neurobiology affect society in ways that go beyond individuals; social attitudes, laws, and policies about the services rendered are influenced. Operating as a catalyst within the community, neurobiological research helps to initiate social change through the creation of an informed, understanding public forum. Thus, it creates broader value for those dealing with behavioural and mental health challenges. The first and most important question of this narrative review is focused on identifying identifiable neurobiological markers that are closely related to criminal conduct, personality disorders, and mental health disorders. Through this review, we aim to present detailed insights into the neurological foundations that anchor these phenomena via a narrative analysis of contemporary literature. The potential implications are finding problems early to apply specific treatment and learning an advanced strategy for social attitudes. This will promote a more humanistic approach based on adequate information on the behavioural and mental health issues involved.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Wajd Alhadi
- College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha, SAU
| | | | - Moayyad S Bauthman
- Internal Medicine, King Abdulaziz University Faculty of Medicine, Rabigh, SAU
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4
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Horton CL. The neurocognition of dreaming: key questions and foci. Emerg Top Life Sci 2023; 7:477-486. [PMID: 38130166 DOI: 10.1042/etls20230099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Revised: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
Until recently, understanding the neurobiology of dreaming has relied upon on correlating a subjective dream report with a measure of brain activity or function sampled from a different occasion. As such, most assumptions about dreaming come from the neuroscience of rapid eye-movement (REM) sleep from which many, but not all, dream reports are recalled. Core features of REM sleep (intense emotional activation, a reduction in activity in most frontal regions, particularly the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, along with increased dopamine, acetylcholine, cholinergic activation) align with typical dream characteristics (characterised by fear, reduced reality monitoring, increased bizarreness and hyperassociativity, respectively). The default mode network offers a way of understanding the nature of dreaming more independently from a REM sleep context, and electroencephalography methods paired with serial awakenings to elicit dream reports demonstrate how high-frequency activity in posterior regions may be associated with dreaming. Nevertheless, all measures of dreaming rely fundamentally on recall processes, so our understanding of dreaming must embrace and address memory's crucial involvement in dream report production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline L Horton
- DrEAMSLab, Bishop Grosseteste University, Longdales Road, Lincoln LN1 3DY, U.K
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5
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Samson DR, Clerget A, Abbas N, Senese J, Sarma MS, Lew-Levy S, Mabulla IA, Mabulla AZP, Miegakanda V, Borghese F, Henckaerts P, Schwartz S, Sterpenich V, Gettler LT, Boyette A, Crittenden AN, Perogamvros L. Evidence for an emotional adaptive function of dreams: a cross-cultural study. Sci Rep 2023; 13:16530. [PMID: 37783728 PMCID: PMC10545663 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-43319-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2023] [Accepted: 09/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The function of dreams is a longstanding scientific research question. Simulation theories of dream function, which are based on the premise that dreams represent evolutionary past selective pressures and fitness improvement through modified states of consciousness, have yet to be tested in cross-cultural populations that include small-scale forager societies. Here, we analyze dream content with cross-cultural comparisons between the BaYaka (Rep. of Congo) and Hadza (Tanzania) foraging groups and Global North populations, to test the hypothesis that dreams in forager groups serve a more effective emotion regulation function due to their strong social norms and high interpersonal support. Using a linear mixed effects model we analyzed 896 dreams from 234 individuals across these populations, recorded using dream diaries. Dream texts were processed into four psychosocial constructs using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC-22) dictionary. The BaYaka displayed greater community-oriented dream content. Both the BaYaka and Hadza exhibited heightened threat dream content, while, at the same time, the Hadza demonstrated low negative emotions in their dreams. The Global North Nightmare Disorder group had increased negative emotion content, and the Canadian student sample during the COVID-19 pandemic displayed the highest anxiety dream content. In conclusion, this study supports the notion that dreams in non-clinical populations can effectively regulate emotions by linking potential threats with non-fearful contexts, reducing anxiety and negative emotions through emotional release or catharsis. Overall, this work contributes to our understanding of the evolutionary significance of this altered state of consciousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- David R Samson
- Sleep and Human Evolution Lab, University of Toronto, Mississauga, Canada.
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6, Canada.
| | - Alice Clerget
- Department of Basic Neurosciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Noor Abbas
- Sleep and Human Evolution Lab, University of Toronto, Mississauga, Canada
| | - Jeffrey Senese
- Sleep and Human Evolution Lab, University of Toronto, Mississauga, Canada
| | - Mallika S Sarma
- School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Sheina Lew-Levy
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Ibrahim A Mabulla
- Department of Archaeology and Heritage, Institute of Resource Assessment, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Audax Z P Mabulla
- Department of Archaeology and Heritage, Institute of Resource Assessment, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Valchy Miegakanda
- Laboratoire National de Santé Publique, Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo
| | - Francesca Borghese
- Department of Basic Neurosciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Pauline Henckaerts
- Department of Basic Neurosciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Sophie Schwartz
- Department of Basic Neurosciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Virginie Sterpenich
- Department of Basic Neurosciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Lee T Gettler
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
| | - Adam Boyette
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | | | - Lampros Perogamvros
- Department of Basic Neurosciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Sleep Medicine, University Hospitals of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Sleep Medicine, 2 Chemin du Petit-Bel-Air, 1226 Thônex, Switzerland.
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6
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Sodré ME, Wießner I, Irfan M, Schenck CH, Mota-Rolim SA. Awake or Sleeping? Maybe Both… A Review of Sleep-Related Dissociative States. J Clin Med 2023; 12:3876. [PMID: 37373570 DOI: 10.3390/jcm12123876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2023] [Revised: 05/04/2023] [Accepted: 05/05/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent studies have begun to understand sleep not only as a whole-brain process but also as a complex local phenomenon controlled by specific neurotransmitters that act in different neural networks, which is called "local sleep". Moreover, the basic states of human consciousness-wakefulness, sleep onset (N1), light sleep (N2), deep sleep (N3), and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep-can concurrently appear, which may result in different sleep-related dissociative states. In this article, we classify these sleep-related dissociative states into physiological, pathological, and altered states of consciousness. Physiological states are daydreaming, lucid dreaming, and false awakenings. Pathological states include sleep paralysis, sleepwalking, and REM sleep behavior disorder. Altered states are hypnosis, anesthesia, and psychedelics. We review the neurophysiology and phenomenology of these sleep-related dissociative states of consciousness and update them with recent studies. We conclude that these sleep-related dissociative states have a significant basic and clinical impact since their study contributes to the understanding of consciousness and the proper treatment of neuropsychiatric diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Isabel Wießner
- Brain Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal 59078-970, RN, Brazil
| | - Muna Irfan
- Department of Neurology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Carlos H Schenck
- Department of Neurology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Sergio A Mota-Rolim
- Brain Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal 59078-970, RN, Brazil
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Sheaves B, Rek S, Freeman D. Nightmares and psychiatric symptoms: A systematic review of longitudinal, experimental, and clinical trial studies. Clin Psychol Rev 2023; 100:102241. [PMID: 36566699 PMCID: PMC10933816 DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2022.102241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2022] [Revised: 11/24/2022] [Accepted: 12/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Nightmares occur across a wide range of psychiatric disorders, but outside of PTSD presentations are infrequently considered a treatment priority. We aimed to assess evidence for a contributory causal role of nightmares to the occurrence of psychiatric disorders, and vice versa. A systematic review was conducted of longitudinal, experimental, and clinical trial studies. Twenty-four longitudinal, sixteen trials, and no experimental studies were identified. Methodological shortcomings were common, especially the use of single-item nightmare assessment. Thirty-five studies assessed the path from nightmares to psychiatric symptoms. Depression (n = 10 studies), PTSD (n = 10) and anxiety (n = 5) were the most commonly assessed outcomes in trials. Most were not designed to assess the effect of nightmare treatment on psychiatric symptoms. Treating nightmares led to moderate reductions in PTSD and depression, small to moderate reductions in anxiety, and potentially moderate reductions in paranoia. Nightmares increased the risk of later suicide outcomes (n = 10), but two small pilot trials indicated that treating nightmares might potentially prevent recovery of suicidal ideation. PTSD treatment led to large reductions in trauma-related nightmares (n = 3). The limited literature suggests that treating nightmares may be one route to lessening threat-based disorders in particular, suggestive of a causal relationship. Overall, however, nightmares in most disorders are greatly understudied.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryony Sheaves
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital, Oxford OX3 7JX, United Kingdom; Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, OX3 7JX, United Kingdom.
| | - Stephanie Rek
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital, Oxford OX3 7JX, United Kingdom; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, LMU University Hospital Munich, Munich, Germany; International Max Planck Research School for Translational Psychiatry (IMPRS-TP), Munich, Germany
| | - Daniel Freeman
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital, Oxford OX3 7JX, United Kingdom; Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, OX3 7JX, United Kingdom
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8
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Teng G, Zhang R, Zhou J, Wang Y, Zhang N. A Prediction Nomogram for Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Snoring Patients: A Retrospective Study. Nat Sci Sleep 2023; 15:231-243. [PMID: 37090896 PMCID: PMC10120827 DOI: 10.2147/nss.s406384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 04/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose Snoring patients, as a high-risk group for OSA, are prone to the combination of severe OSA and face serious health threats. The aim of our study was to develop and validate a nomogram to predict the occurrence of severe OSA in snorers, in order to improve the diagnosis rate and treatment rate in this population. Patients and Methods A training cohort of 464 snoring patients treated at our institution from May 2021 to October 2022 was divided into severe OSA and non-severe OSA groups. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to identify potential predictors of severe OSA, and a nomogram model was constructed. An external hospital cohort of 210 patients was utilized as an external validation cohort to test the model. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, calibration curve, and decision curve analyses were used to assess the discriminatory power, calibration, and clinical utility of the nomogram, respectively. Results Multivariate logistic regression demonstrated that body mass index, Epworth Sleepiness Scale total score, smoking history, morning dry mouth, dream recall, and hypertension were independent predictors of severe OSA. The area under the curve (AUC) of the nomogram constructed from the above six factors is 0.820 (95% CI: 0.782-0.857). The Hosmer-Lemeshow test showed that the model had a good fit (P = 0.972). Both the calibration curve and decision curve of the nomogram demonstrated the corresponding dominance. Moreover, external validation further confirmed the reliability of the predicted nomograms (AUC=0.805, 95% CI: 0.748-0.862). Conclusion A nomogram predicting the occurrence of severe OSA in snoring patients was constructed and validated with external data for the first time, and the findings all confirmed the validity of the model. This may help to improve existing clinical decision making, especially at institutions that do not yet have devices for diagnosing OSA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gang Teng
- Graduate School, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui, 230012, People’s Republic of China
| | - Rui Zhang
- Graduate School, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui, 230012, People’s Republic of China
| | - Jing Zhou
- Graduate School, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui, 230012, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yuanyuan Wang
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui, 230031, People’s Republic of China
| | - Nianzhi Zhang
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui, 230031, People’s Republic of China
- Correspondence: Nianzhi Zhang, Department of Respiratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, No. 117 Meishan Road, Hefei, Anhui, 230031, People’s Republic of China, Tel/Fax +86-551-62850057, Email
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9
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Budding D, Doornkamp S, Treur J. A Second-Order Adaptive Mental Network Model Relating Dreaming to Creativity. COGN SYST RES 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cogsys.2022.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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10
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Sabiniewicz A, Zimmermann P, Ozturk GA, Warr J, Hummel T. Effects of odors on sleep quality in 139 healthy participants. Sci Rep 2022; 12:17165. [PMID: 36229501 PMCID: PMC9562345 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-21371-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2022] [Accepted: 09/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The present study aimed to systematically examine whether laurinal, orange odor, and a specifically designed "perfume" influence sleep quality. During sleep, healthy participants (n = 139) were presented with odor or no odor through nose clips for fourteen consecutive nights (phase one). We collected physiological parameters together with subjective reports. Later on, longer lasting effects of this manipulation were examined for the following fourteen nights (phase two) without exposition to odors. Additionally, olfactory, cognitive and non-cognitive measures were conducted before phase one, between both phases and after phase two. One-way analyses of variance for repeated measures with nights and condition (1 vs 2) as the within-subject factor and odor condition (0, 1, 2 or 3) together with odor pleasantness rating as between-subject factor, was employed to analyse data. Overall, the present results demonstrated that the odor condition in comparison to control had no consistent effect on sleep in healthy participants which can be possibly explained by exposure to odors via nose clips. However, the analyses indicated that the individual pleasantness of odors enhanced the positive assessment of sleep quality. Altogether, the present results indicate that the subjective perception of an odor's hedonic value appears to be crucial for sleep quality, not the odors themselves.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnieszka Sabiniewicz
- Interdisciplinary Center "Smell & Taste", Department of Otorhinolaryngology, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
| | - Pia Zimmermann
- Interdisciplinary Center "Smell & Taste", Department of Otorhinolaryngology, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Guliz Akin Ozturk
- Interdisciplinary Center "Smell & Taste", Department of Otorhinolaryngology, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, Turkey
| | | | - Thomas Hummel
- Interdisciplinary Center "Smell & Taste", Department of Otorhinolaryngology, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
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11
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Murillo-Rodríguez E, Coronado-Álvarez A, López-Muciño LA, Pastrana-Trejo JC, Viana-Torre G, Barberena JJ, Soriano-Nava DM, García-García F. Neurobiology of dream activity and effects of stimulants on dreams. Curr Top Med Chem 2022; 22:1280-1295. [PMID: 35761491 DOI: 10.2174/1568026622666220627162032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2021] [Revised: 03/18/2022] [Accepted: 04/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The sleep-wake cycle is the result of the activity of a multiple neurobiological network interaction. Dreaming feature is one interesting sleep phenomena that represents sensorial components, mostly visual perceptions, accompanied with intense emotions. Further complexity has been added to the topic of the neurobiological mechanism of dreams generation by the current data that suggests the influence of drugs on dream generation. Here, we discuss the review on some of the neurobiological mechanism of the regulation of dream activity, with special emphasis on the effects of stimulants on dreaming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Murillo-Rodríguez
- Laboratorio de Neurociencias Moleculares e Integrativas, Escuela de Medicina, División Ciencias de la Salud. Universidad Anáhuac Mayab. Mérida, Yucatán. México.,Intercontinental Neuroscience Research Group
| | - Astrid Coronado-Álvarez
- Laboratorio de Neurociencias Moleculares e Integrativas, Escuela de Medicina, División Ciencias de la Salud. Universidad Anáhuac Mayab. Mérida, Yucatán. México.,Intercontinental Neuroscience Research Group
| | - Luis Angel López-Muciño
- Health Sciences Program. Health Sciences Institute. Veracruzana University. Xalapa. Veracruz. Mexico
| | - José Carlos Pastrana-Trejo
- Laboratorio de Neurociencias Moleculares e Integrativas, Escuela de Medicina, División Ciencias de la Salud. Universidad Anáhuac Mayab. Mérida, Yucatán. México.,Intercontinental Neuroscience Research Group
| | - Gerardo Viana-Torre
- Laboratorio de Neurociencias Moleculares e Integrativas, Escuela de Medicina, División Ciencias de la Salud. Universidad Anáhuac Mayab. Mérida, Yucatán. México.,Intercontinental Neuroscience Research Group
| | - Juan José Barberena
- Laboratorio de Neurociencias Moleculares e Integrativas, Escuela de Medicina, División Ciencias de la Salud. Universidad Anáhuac Mayab. Mérida, Yucatán. México.,Intercontinental Neuroscience Research Group.,Escuela de Psicología, División Ciencias de la Salud. Universidad Anáhuac Mayab. Mérida, Yucatán. México
| | - Daniela Marcia Soriano-Nava
- Laboratorio de Neurociencias Moleculares e Integrativas, Escuela de Medicina, División Ciencias de la Salud. Universidad Anáhuac Mayab. Mérida, Yucatán. México.,Intercontinental Neuroscience Research Group
| | - Fabio García-García
- Intercontinental Neuroscience Research Group.,Health Sciences Program. Health Sciences Institute. Veracruzana University. Xalapa. Veracruz. Mexico
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12
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Moyne M, Legendre G, Arnal L, Kumar S, Sterpenich V, Seeck M, Grandjean D, Schwartz S, Vuilleumier P, Domínguez-Borràs J. Brain reactivity to emotion persists in NREM sleep and is associated with individual dream recall. Cereb Cortex Commun 2022; 3:tgac003. [PMID: 35174329 PMCID: PMC8844542 DOI: 10.1093/texcom/tgac003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Revised: 01/07/2022] [Accepted: 01/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
The waking brain efficiently detects emotional signals to promote survival. However, emotion detection during sleep is poorly understood and may be influenced by individual sleep characteristics or neural reactivity. Notably, dream recall frequency has been associated with stimulus reactivity during sleep, with enhanced stimulus-driven responses in high vs. low recallers. Using electroencephalography (EEG), we characterized the neural responses of healthy individuals to emotional, neutral voices, and control stimuli, both during wakefulness and NREM sleep. Then, we tested how these responses varied with individual dream recall frequency. Event-related potentials (ERPs) differed for emotional vs. neutral voices, both in wakefulness and NREM. Likewise, EEG arousals (sleep perturbations) increased selectively after the emotional voices, indicating emotion reactivity. Interestingly, sleep ERP amplitude and arousals after emotional voices increased linearly with participants' dream recall frequency. Similar correlations with dream recall were observed for beta and sigma responses, but not for theta. In contrast, dream recall correlations were absent for neutral or control stimuli. Our results reveal that brain reactivity to affective salience is preserved during NREM and is selectively associated to individual memory for dreams. Our findings also suggest that emotion-specific reactivity during sleep, and not generalized alertness, may contribute to the encoding/retrieval of dreams.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maëva Moyne
- Campus Biotech, chemin des mines, 9 CH-1202 Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Geneva, Rue Michel Servet 1, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Guillaume Legendre
- Campus Biotech, chemin des mines, 9 CH-1202 Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Geneva, Rue Michel Servet 1, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Luc Arnal
- Campus Biotech, chemin des mines, 9 CH-1202 Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Geneva, Rue Michel Servet 1, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Samika Kumar
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EB, USA
| | - Virginie Sterpenich
- Campus Biotech, chemin des mines, 9 CH-1202 Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Geneva, Rue Michel Servet 1, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Margitta Seeck
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Geneva University Hospitals, 4 rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Geneva, 4 rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Didier Grandjean
- Campus Biotech, chemin des mines, 9 CH-1202 Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Uni Mail, bd du Pont-d’Arve 40, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Sophie Schwartz
- Campus Biotech, chemin des mines, 9 CH-1202 Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Geneva, Rue Michel Servet 1, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland
- Center for Affective Sciences, CISA - chemin des mines 9, CH-1202 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Patrik Vuilleumier
- Campus Biotech, chemin des mines, 9 CH-1202 Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Geneva, Rue Michel Servet 1, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland
- Center for Affective Sciences, CISA - chemin des mines 9, CH-1202 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Judith Domínguez-Borràs
- Campus Biotech, chemin des mines, 9 CH-1202 Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Geneva, 4 rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland
- Center for Affective Sciences, CISA - chemin des mines 9, CH-1202 Geneva, Switzerland
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13
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Konjedi S, Maleeh R. The dynamic framework of mind wandering revisited: How mindful meta-awareness affects mental states' constraints. Conscious Cogn 2021; 95:103194. [PMID: 34419729 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2021.103194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2021] [Revised: 07/20/2021] [Accepted: 08/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The dynamic framework of mind wandering (Christoff, Irving, Fox, Spreng, & Andrews-Hanna, 2016) is reviewed and modified through integrating the construct of mindful meta-awareness. The dynamic framework maintains that mind wandering belongs to a family of spontaneous thought phenomena. The key defining feature of mind wandering is 'spontaneity' which characterizes the dynamic nature of thoughts in the framework. The argument is made that incorporating the mindful meta-awareness construct modifies the dynamic framework as follows: (1) the framework's criteria for mind wandering do not hold anymore as meta-awareness changes the relationship between thoughts and constraints, and (2) lucid dreaming can be categorized as unguided thought while at the same time being dependent on deliberate constraints. Finally, the application of this modified framework will be discussed in terms of the treatment of mental disorders related to spontaneous thought alterations, in particular depression and nightmares.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Reza Maleeh
- Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Osnabrück, 49069 Osnabrück, Germany; School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.
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14
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Szymanek P. I did not expect to be dreaming: Explaining realization in lucid dreams with a Bayesian framework. Conscious Cogn 2021; 93:103163. [PMID: 34118582 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2021.103163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2021] [Revised: 05/12/2021] [Accepted: 06/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The commonsense view is that a lucid dream starts when the dreamer realizes that they are currently dreaming. The notion of realization, however, has been accepted at face value, with little consideration of whether the dreamer realizes that they are dreaming in the sense of actual reasoning, or if it is a mere epiphenomenon of lucid dream initiation. This article offers a solution to this problem by, first, arguing that the transition to lucidity can occur as a result of successful reasoning, and second, building a model of this reasoning in terms of probabilistic reasoning. The established Bayesian model explains realization in lucid dreams taking under consideration two factors: the beliefs that the dreamer holds on what is generally probable and improbable, and the dreamer's admissibility of being in a dream. Defended against important objections, the model offers an explanation of lucid dream initiation, relevant for future research on dreaming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Piotr Szymanek
- Faculty of Philosophy, Jagiellonian University, Gołębia 24, 31-007 Kraków, Poland.
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15
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Scarpelli S, Alfonsi V, Gorgoni M, Giannini AM, De Gennaro L. Investigation on Neurobiological Mechanisms of Dreaming in the New Decade. Brain Sci 2021; 11:brainsci11020220. [PMID: 33670180 PMCID: PMC7916906 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11020220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2020] [Revised: 02/06/2021] [Accepted: 02/08/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Dream research has advanced significantly over the last twenty years, thanks to the new applications of neuroimaging and electrophysiological techniques. Many findings pointed out that mental activity during sleep and wakefulness shared similar neural bases. On the other side, recent studies have highlighted that dream experience is promoted by significant brain activation, characterized by reduced low frequencies and increased rapid frequencies. Additionally, several studies confirmed that the posterior parietal area and prefrontal cortex are responsible for dream experience. Further, early results revealed that dreaming might be manipulated by sensory stimulations that would provoke the incorporation of specific cues into the dream scenario. Recently, transcranial stimulation techniques have been applied to modulate the level of consciousness during sleep, supporting previous findings and adding new information about neural correlates of dream recall. Overall, although multiple studies suggest that both the continuity and activation hypotheses provide a growing understanding of neural processes underlying dreaming, several issues are still unsolved. The impact of state-/trait-like variables, the influence of circadian and homeostatic factors, and the examination of parasomnia-like events to access dream contents are all opened issues deserving further deepening in future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Serena Scarpelli
- Body and Action Lab, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy; (V.A.); (L.D.G.)
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy; (M.G.); (A.M.G.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-06-4991-7508
| | - Valentina Alfonsi
- Body and Action Lab, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy; (V.A.); (L.D.G.)
| | - Maurizio Gorgoni
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy; (M.G.); (A.M.G.)
| | - Anna Maria Giannini
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy; (M.G.); (A.M.G.)
| | - Luigi De Gennaro
- Body and Action Lab, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy; (V.A.); (L.D.G.)
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy; (M.G.); (A.M.G.)
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16
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Windt JM. How deep is the rift between conscious states in sleep and wakefulness? Spontaneous experience over the sleep-wake cycle. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20190696. [PMID: 33308071 PMCID: PMC7741079 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Whether we are awake or asleep is believed to mark a sharp divide between the types of conscious states we undergo in either behavioural state. Consciousness in sleep is often equated with dreaming and thought to be characteristically different from waking consciousness. Conversely, recent research shows that we spend a substantial amount of our waking lives mind wandering, or lost in spontaneous thoughts. Dreaming has been described as intensified mind wandering, suggesting that there is a continuum of spontaneous experience that reaches from waking into sleep. This challenges how we conceive of the behavioural states of sleep and wakefulness in relation to conscious states. I propose a conceptual framework that distinguishes different subtypes of spontaneous thoughts and experiences independently of their occurrence in sleep or waking. I apply this framework to selected findings from dream and mind-wandering research. I argue that to assess the relationship between spontaneous thoughts and experiences and the behavioural states of sleep and wakefulness, we need to look beyond dreams to consider kinds of sleep-related experience that qualify as dreamless. I conclude that if we consider the entire range of spontaneous thoughts and experiences, there appears to be variation in subtypes both within as well as across behavioural states. Whether we are sleeping or waking does not appear to strongly constrain which subtypes of spontaneous thoughts and experiences we undergo in those states. This challenges the conventional and coarse-grained distinction between sleep and waking and their putative relation to conscious states. This article is part of the theme issue 'Offline perception: voluntary and spontaneous perceptual experiences without matching external stimulation'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer M. Windt
- Department of Philosophy, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia
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17
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Baldelli L, Provini F. Differentiating Oneiric Stupor in Agrypnia Excitata From Dreaming Disorders. Front Neurol 2020; 11:565694. [PMID: 33281702 PMCID: PMC7688744 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2020.565694] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2020] [Accepted: 10/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Oneiric Stupor (OS) in Agrypnia Excitata represents a peculiar condition characterized by the recurrence of stereotyped gestures such as mimicking daily-life activities associated with the reporting of a dream mentation consisting in a single oneiric scene. It arises in the context of a completely disorganized sleep structure lacking any physiological cyclic organization, thus, going beyond the concept of abnormal dream. However, a proper differential diagnosis of OS, in the complex world of the “disorders of dreaming” can become quite challenging. The aim of this review is to provide useful clinical and videopolygraphic data on OS to differentiate it from other dreaming disorders. Each entity will be clinically evaluated among the areas of dream mentation and abnormal sleep behaviors and its polygraphic features will be analyzed and distinguished from OS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Baldelli
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Federica Provini
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.,Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
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18
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Cicolin A, Boffano M, Beccuti G, Piana R, Giordano A. End-of-Life in Oncologic Patients' Dream Content. Brain Sci 2020; 10:brainsci10080505. [PMID: 32752165 PMCID: PMC7464967 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci10080505] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2020] [Revised: 07/27/2020] [Accepted: 07/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Both non-rapid eye movements and rapid eye movements sleep facilitate the strengthening of newly encoded memory traces, and dream content reflects this process. Numerous studies evaluated the impact of diseases on dream content, with particular reference to cancer, and reported the presence of issues related to death, negative emotions, pain and illness. This study investigates death and illness experiences in 13 consecutive patients with sarcoma compared to paired controls, early after diagnosis, evaluating dream contents, fear of death, mood and anxiety, distress, and severity of disease perception (perceived and communicated). Ten patients and 10 controls completed the study. Dream contents were significantly different between patients and normative data (DreamSat) and patients and controls (higher presence of negative emotions, low familiar settings and characters and no success involving the dreamer). Illness and death were present in 57% of patients’ dreams (0% among controls), but no differences emerged between patients and controls in regard to anxiety and depression, distress and fear of death, even if the severity of illness was correctly perceived. The appearance of emotional elements in dreams and the absence of conscious verbalization of distress and/or depressive or anxious symptoms by patients could be ascribed to the time required for mnestic elaboration (construction/elaboration phase) during sleep.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Cicolin
- Sleep Medicine Center, Department of Neuroscience, University of Torino, 10126 Torino, Italy;
- Correspondence:
| | - Michele Boffano
- Orthopaedic Oncologic Surgery, Department Oncological and Reconstructive Orthopedics, University of Torino, 10126 Torino, Italy; (M.B.); (R.P.)
| | - Guglielmo Beccuti
- Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, Department of Medical Sciences, AOU Città della Salute e della Scienza, University of Torino, 10126 Torino, Italy;
| | - Raimondo Piana
- Orthopaedic Oncologic Surgery, Department Oncological and Reconstructive Orthopedics, University of Torino, 10126 Torino, Italy; (M.B.); (R.P.)
| | - Alessandra Giordano
- Sleep Medicine Center, Department of Neuroscience, University of Torino, 10126 Torino, Italy;
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19
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Franceschiello B, Di Sopra L, Minier A, Ionta S, Zeugin D, Notter MP, Bastiaansen JAM, Jorge J, Yerly J, Stuber M, Murray MM. 3-Dimensional magnetic resonance imaging of the freely moving human eye. Prog Neurobiol 2020; 194:101885. [PMID: 32653462 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2020.101885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2019] [Revised: 04/21/2020] [Accepted: 07/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Eye motion is a major confound for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in neuroscience or ophthalmology. Currently, solutions toward eye stabilisation include participants fixating or administration of paralytics/anaesthetics. We developed a novel MRI protocol for acquiring 3-dimensional images while the eye freely moves. Eye motion serves as the basis for image reconstruction, rather than an impediment. We fully reconstruct videos of the moving eye and head. We quantitatively validate data quality with millimetre resolution in two ways for individual participants. First, eye position based on reconstructed images correlated with simultaneous eye-tracking. Second, the reconstructed images preserve anatomical properties; the eye's axial length measured from MRI images matched that obtained with ocular biometry. The technique operates on a standard clinical setup, without necessitating specialized hardware, facilitating wide deployment. In clinical practice, we anticipate that this may help reduce burdens on both patients and infrastructure, by integrating multiple varieties of assessments into a single comprehensive session. More generally, our protocol is a harbinger for removing the necessity of fixation, thereby opening new opportunities for ethologically-valid, naturalistic paradigms, the inclusion of populations typically unable to stably fixate, and increased translational research such as in awake animals whose eye movements constitute an accessible behavioural readout.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benedetta Franceschiello
- The Laboratory for Investigative Neurophysiology (The LINE), Department of Radiology, University Hospital Center and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Department of Ophthalmology, University of Lausanne, Jules Gonin Eye Hospital, Fondation Asile des aveugles, Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Lorenzo Di Sopra
- Department of Radiology, University Hospital Center and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Astrid Minier
- The Laboratory for Investigative Neurophysiology (The LINE), Department of Radiology, University Hospital Center and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Department of Ophthalmology, University of Lausanne, Jules Gonin Eye Hospital, Fondation Asile des aveugles, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Silvio Ionta
- Department of Ophthalmology, University of Lausanne, Jules Gonin Eye Hospital, Fondation Asile des aveugles, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - David Zeugin
- The Laboratory for Investigative Neurophysiology (The LINE), Department of Radiology, University Hospital Center and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Department of Ophthalmology, University of Lausanne, Jules Gonin Eye Hospital, Fondation Asile des aveugles, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Michael P Notter
- The Laboratory for Investigative Neurophysiology (The LINE), Department of Radiology, University Hospital Center and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Jessica A M Bastiaansen
- Department of Radiology, University Hospital Center and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - João Jorge
- École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Jérôme Yerly
- Department of Radiology, University Hospital Center and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Center for Biomedical Imaging (CIBM), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Matthias Stuber
- Department of Radiology, University Hospital Center and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Center for Biomedical Imaging (CIBM), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Micah M Murray
- The Laboratory for Investigative Neurophysiology (The LINE), Department of Radiology, University Hospital Center and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Department of Ophthalmology, University of Lausanne, Jules Gonin Eye Hospital, Fondation Asile des aveugles, Lausanne, Switzerland; Center for Biomedical Imaging (CIBM), Lausanne, Switzerland; Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN, USA.
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20
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Emotion dysregulation mediates the relationship between nightmares and psychotic experiences: results from a student population. NPJ SCHIZOPHRENIA 2020; 6:15. [PMID: 32483140 PMCID: PMC7264199 DOI: 10.1038/s41537-020-0103-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2019] [Accepted: 04/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Sleep disruption is commonly associated with psychotic experiences. While sparse, the literature to date highlights nightmares and related distress as prominent risk factors for psychosis in students. We aimed to further explore the relationship between specific nightmare symptoms and psychotic experiences in university students while examining the mediating role of emotion dysregulation. A sample (N = 1273) of student respondents from UK universities completed measures of psychotic experiences, nightmare disorder symptomology and emotion dysregulation. Psychotic experiences were significantly more prevalent in students reporting nightmares (n = 757) relative to those who did not (n = 516). Hierarchical linear regression analysis showed that psychotic experiences were significantly associated (Adjusted R2 = 32.4%) with perceived nightmare intensity, consequences and resulting awakenings, and with emotion regulation difficulties. Furthermore, multiple mediation analysis showed that the association between psychotic experiences and nightmare factors was mediated by emotion regulation difficulties. Adaptive regulation of dream content during rapid eye-movement sleep has previously been demonstrated to attenuate surges in affective arousal by controlling the intensity and variability of emotional content. Difficulties in emotion regulation may partially explain the experience of more intense and disruptive nightmares among individuals with psychotic experiences. Emotion regulation may represent an important control mechanism that safeguards dream content and sleep quality.
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21
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Drews HJ, Wallot S, Brysch P, Berger-Johannsen H, Weinhold SL, Mitkidis P, Baier PC, Lechinger J, Roepstorff A, Göder R. Bed-Sharing in Couples Is Associated With Increased and Stabilized REM Sleep and Sleep-Stage Synchronization. Front Psychiatry 2020; 11:583. [PMID: 32670111 PMCID: PMC7330166 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2020] [Accepted: 06/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES Sharing the bed with a partner is common among adults and impacts sleep quality with potential implications for mental health. However, hitherto findings are contradictory and particularly polysomnographic data on co-sleeping couples are extremely rare. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of a bed partner's presence on individual and dyadic sleep neurophysiology. METHODS Young healthy heterosexual couples underwent sleep-lab-based polysomnography of two sleeping arrangements: individual sleep and co-sleep. Individual and dyadic sleep parameters (i.e., synchronization of sleep stages) were collected. The latter were assessed using cross-recurrence quantification analysis. Additionally, subjective sleep quality, relationship characteristics, and chronotype were monitored. Data were analyzed comparing co-sleep vs. individual sleep. Interaction effects of the sleeping arrangement with gender, chronotype, or relationship characteristics were moreover tested. RESULTS As compared to sleeping individually, co-sleeping was associated with about 10% more REM sleep, less fragmented REM sleep (p = 0.008), longer undisturbed REM fragments (p = 0.0006), and more limb movements (p = 0.007). None of the other sleep stages was significantly altered. Social support interacted with sleeping arrangement in a way that individuals with suboptimal social support showed the biggest impact of the sleeping arrangement on REM sleep. Sleep architectures were more synchronized between partners during co-sleep (p = 0.005) even if wake phases were excluded (p = 0.022). Moreover, sleep architectures are significantly coupled across a lag of ± 5min. Depth of relationship represented an additional significant main effect regarding synchronization, reflecting a positive association between the two. Neither REM sleep nor synchronization was influenced by gender, chronotype, or other relationship characteristics. CONCLUSION Depending on the sleeping arrangement, couple's sleep architecture and synchronization show alterations that are modified by relationship characteristics. We discuss that these alterations could be part of a self-enhancing feedback loop of REM sleep and sociality and a mechanism through which sociality prevents mental illness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henning Johannes Drews
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Christian-Albrechts University Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Sebastian Wallot
- Department of Language and Literature, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Philip Brysch
- Department of Psychology, Christian-Albrechts University Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | | | - Sara Lena Weinhold
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Christian-Albrechts University Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Panagiotis Mitkidis
- Department of Management, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.,Center for Advanced Hindsight, Social Science Research Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Paul Christian Baier
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Christian-Albrechts University Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Julia Lechinger
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Christian-Albrechts University Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | | | - Robert Göder
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Christian-Albrechts University Kiel, Kiel, Germany
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22
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Kessler L, Kessler RJ. Neuropsychoanalytic Explorations: Linking Practice, Theory, and Research. PSYCHOANALYTIC INQUIRY 2019. [DOI: 10.1080/07351690.2019.1671079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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23
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van Wyk M, Solms M, Lipinska G. Increased Awakenings From Non-rapid Eye Movement Sleep Explain Differences in Dream Recall Frequency in Healthy Individuals. Front Hum Neurosci 2019; 13:370. [PMID: 31680920 PMCID: PMC6803546 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2019.00370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2019] [Accepted: 09/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Dreaming is a universal experience, yet there is considerable inter-individual variability in dream recall frequency (DRF). One dominant model, the “arousal-retrieval” model, posits that intra-sleep wakefulness is required for dream traces to be encoded into long-term storage, essentially proposing that a better memory for dreams underlie increased DRF. A recent study utilizing polysomnography combined with an event-related potentials paradigm, provides direct support for this model by demonstrating increased intra-sleep wakefulness in a healthy population by comparing high frequency recallers (HFRs) and low frequency recallers (LFRs). Another study by the same group demonstrated increased regional cerebral blood flow in regions associated with dream production, supporting the premise that HFRs also may produce more dreams. Hypotheses This study investigated the profile of nocturnal awakenings and dream production in healthy HFRs and LFRs. Hypothesis (1a): HFRs will spend significantly more time awake after sleep onset; (1b): HFRs will experience significantly more awakenings across the night, and from rapid eye movement (REM) sleep in particular; (2) HFRs will have significantly higher rates of dream production across the night as measured by REM density. Methods We studied two groups of healthy adults: HFRs (n = 19) and LFRs (n = 17) who underwent polysomnographic recordings on two non-consecutive nights. Results Hypothesis (1a) was confirmed: HFRs spent significantly more time awake after sleep onset. Hypothesis (1b) was partially confirmed: HFRs experienced significantly more awakenings across the night; however, awakenings from REM sleep were comparable. Interestingly, HFRs had significantly more awakenings, as well as a higher number of longer awakenings, from non-rapid eye movement (NREM) stage 2 sleep. Hypothesis (2) was not confirmed: There was no significant difference in rates of REM density between groups. Conclusion This is the first study to provide evidence that awakenings from NREM 2 sleep might underlie increased DRF in HFRs. This finding coupled with null findings in relation to REM sleep variables, support the premise that inter-individual variability in DRF cannot be ascribed to differences in REM sleep parameters in healthy individuals. Instead, the data indicates that awakenings from NREM sleep is of particular importance in relation to DRF in a healthy population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariza van Wyk
- UCT Sleep Sciences, Department of Psychology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Mark Solms
- UCT Sleep Sciences, Department of Psychology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Gosia Lipinska
- UCT Sleep Sciences, Department of Psychology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
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24
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Sheaves B, Holmes EA, Rek S, Taylor KM, Nickless A, Waite F, Germain A, Espie CA, Harrison PJ, Foster R, Freeman D. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Nightmares for Patients with Persecutory Delusions (Nites): An Assessor-Blind, Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial. CANADIAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY. REVUE CANADIENNE DE PSYCHIATRIE 2019; 64:686-696. [PMID: 31129983 PMCID: PMC6783669 DOI: 10.1177/0706743719847422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Nightmares are relatively common in patients experiencing psychosis but rarely assessed or treated. Nightmares may maintain persecutory delusions by portraying fears in sensory-rich detail. We tested the potential benefits of imagery-focused cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for nightmares on nightmare severity and persecutory delusions. METHOD This assessor-blind parallel-group pilot trial randomized 24 participants with nightmares and persecutory delusions to receive CBT for nightmares delivered over 4 weeks in addition to treatment as usual (TAU) or TAU alone. Assessments were at 0, 4 (end of treatment), and 8 weeks (follow-up). Feasibility outcomes assessed therapy uptake, techniques used, satisfaction, and attrition. The primary efficacy outcome assessed nightmare severity at week 4. Analyses were intention to treat, estimating treatment effect with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS All participants offered CBT completed therapy (mean [SD], 4.8 [0.6] sessions) with high satisfaction, and 20 (83%) participants completed all assessments. Compared with TAU, CBT led to large improvements in nightmares (adjusted mean difference = -7.0; 95% CI, -12.6 to -1.3; d = -1.1) and insomnia (6.3; 95% CI, 2.6 to 10.0; d = 1.4) at week 4. Gains were maintained at follow-up. Suicidal ideation was not exacerbated by CBT but remained stable to follow-up, compared with TAU, which reduced at follow-up (6.8; 95% CI, 0.3 to 3.3; d = 0.7). CBT led to reductions in paranoia (-20.8; 95% CI, -43.2 to 1.7; d = -0.6), although CIs were wide. Three serious adverse events were deemed unrelated to participation (CBT = 2, TAU = 1). CONCLUSIONS CBT for nightmares is feasible and may be efficacious for treating nightmares and comorbid insomnia for patients with persecutory delusions. It shows promise on paranoia but potentially not on suicidal ideation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryony Sheaves
- Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, UK
| | - Emily A Holmes
- Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Sweden.,Division of Psychology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden
| | - Stephanie Rek
- Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Kathryn M Taylor
- Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, Primary Care Clinical Trials Unit, University of Oxford, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Oxford, UK
| | - Alecia Nickless
- Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, Primary Care Clinical Trials Unit, University of Oxford, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Oxford, UK
| | - Felicity Waite
- Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, UK
| | - Anne Germain
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Colin A Espie
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Paul J Harrison
- Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, UK
| | - Russell Foster
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Daniel Freeman
- Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, UK.,Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, Primary Care Clinical Trials Unit, University of Oxford, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Oxford, UK
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11th International Congress on Psychopharmacology & 7th International Symposium on Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology. PSYCHIAT CLIN PSYCH 2019. [DOI: 10.1080/24750573.2019.1606883] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
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Nordin A, Bjälkebring P. Measuring Counterintuitiveness in Supernatural Agent Dream Imagery. Front Psychol 2019; 10:1728. [PMID: 31447725 PMCID: PMC6696895 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2019] [Accepted: 07/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The present article tests counterintuitiveness theory and methodology in relation to religious dream imagery using data on religious dream content. The endeavor adopts a "fractionated" or "piecemeal" approach where supernatural agent (SA) cognition is held to be a pivotal building block of purportedly religious dreaming. Such supernaturalistic conceptualizations manifest in a cognitive environment of dream simulation processes, threat detection, and violation of basic conceptual categorization characterized by counterintuitiveness. By addressing SA cognitions as constituents of allegedly religious dream imagery, additional theorizing and supporting data are presented in a growing body of research in the cognitive science of religion (e.g., Barrett et al., 2009;Hornbeck and Barrett, 2013;Barrett, 2017) and on religious dreaming (McNamara and Bulkeley, 2015;McNamara, 2016). The aim of the article is partly to map and align contemporary theorizing regarding counterintuitiveness and CI schemes with empirical qualification of the prosaic hypothesis about the predominance of supernaturalism in allegedly religious dreaming. This is done by (1) exploring the crucial topic of the pervasiveness of cognitive counterintuitiveness; (2) testing Barrett's counterintuitiveness coding and quantifying scheme (CI scheme) for counterintuitiveness in the context of religious dreaming by assessing intercoder reliability; and (3) exploring the prevalence and base rate frequency of counterintuitiveness in dream reports. This undertaking aims to contribute to the methodology and understanding of religious dream cognition, as well as to establish the cross-cultural base rates of counterintuitiveness in dreams for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Nordin
- Department of Cultural Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Pär Bjälkebring
- Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
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Sikka P, Revonsuo A, Noreika V, Valli K. EEG Frontal Alpha Asymmetry and Dream Affect: Alpha Oscillations over the Right Frontal Cortex during REM Sleep and Presleep Wakefulness Predict Anger in REM Sleep Dreams. J Neurosci 2019; 39:4775-4784. [PMID: 30988168 PMCID: PMC6561691 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2884-18.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2018] [Revised: 03/12/2019] [Accepted: 03/16/2019] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Affective experiences are central not only to our waking life but also to rapid eye movement (REM) sleep dreams. Despite our increasing understanding of the neural correlates of dreaming, we know little about the neural correlates of dream affect. Frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) is considered a marker of affective states and traits as well as affect regulation in the waking state. Here, we explored whether FAA during REM sleep and during evening resting wakefulness is related to affective experiences in REM sleep dreams. EEG recordings were obtained from 17 human participants (7 men) who spent 2 nights in the sleep laboratory. Participants were awakened 5 min after the onset of every REM stage after which they provided a dream report and rated their dream affect. Two-minute preawakening EEG segments were analyzed. Additionally, 8 min of evening presleep and morning postsleep EEG were recorded during resting wakefulness. Mean spectral power in the alpha band (8-13 Hz) and corresponding FAA were calculated over the frontal (F4-F3) sites. Results showed that FAA during REM sleep, and during evening resting wakefulness, predicted ratings of dream anger. This suggests that individuals with greater alpha power in the right frontal hemisphere may be less able to regulate (i.e., inhibit) strong affective states, such as anger, in dreams. Additionally, FAA was positively correlated across wakefulness and REM sleep. Together, these findings imply that FAA may serve as a neural correlate of affect regulation not only in the waking but also in the dreaming state.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT We experience emotions not only during wakefulness but also during dreaming. Despite our increasing understanding of the neural correlates of dreaming, we know little about the neural correlates of dream emotions. Here we used electroencephalography to explore how frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA)-the relative difference in alpha power between the right and left frontal cortical areas that is associated with emotional processing and emotion regulation in wakefulness-is related to dream emotions. We show that individuals with greater FAA (i.e., greater right-sided alpha power) during rapid eye movement sleep, and during evening wakefulness, experience more anger in dreams. FAA may thus reflect the ability to regulate emotions not only in the waking but also in the dreaming state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pilleriin Sikka
- Department of Psychology and Turku Brain and Mind Center, University of Turku, 20014 Turku, Finland,
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience and Philosophy, University of Skövde, 54 128 Skövde, Sweden, and
| | - Antti Revonsuo
- Department of Psychology and Turku Brain and Mind Center, University of Turku, 20014 Turku, Finland
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience and Philosophy, University of Skövde, 54 128 Skövde, Sweden, and
| | - Valdas Noreika
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, United Kingdom
| | - Katja Valli
- Department of Psychology and Turku Brain and Mind Center, University of Turku, 20014 Turku, Finland
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience and Philosophy, University of Skövde, 54 128 Skövde, Sweden, and
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Rousseau P, El Khoury-Malhame M, Reynaud E, Zendjidjian X, Samuelian J, Khalfa S. Neurobiological correlates of EMDR therapy effect in PTSD. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF TRAUMA & DISSOCIATION 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejtd.2018.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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Abstract
Dreaming is a ubiquitous phenomenon in human beings and has been discussed, researched, and hypothesized since a long time. The substrate, physiological mechanism, and function of dreaming have been explained by many scientists from the neurological, psychiatric, psychological, and philosophical perspective. With the development of scientific technology, many theories of dreaming have been established. In the present review, we first summarize the different theories of dreaming; furthermore, we introduce memory consolidation and reconsolidation. Lastly, we propose that memory might be associated with memory reconsolidation and list the explanations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongyi Zhao
- Department of Neurology, The Seventh Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100700, China
- Department of Neurology, NO. 984 Hospital of the PLA, Beijing 100094, China
| | - Dandan Li
- Department of Neurology, The Seventh Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100700, China
| | - Xiuzhen Li
- Department of Neurology, NO. 984 Hospital of the PLA, Beijing 100094, China
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Scarpelli S, Bartolacci C, D'Atri A, Gorgoni M, De Gennaro L. The Functional Role of Dreaming in Emotional Processes. Front Psychol 2019; 10:459. [PMID: 30930809 PMCID: PMC6428732 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2018] [Accepted: 02/15/2019] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Dream experience (DE) represents a fascinating condition linked to emotional processes and the human inner world. Although the overlap between REM sleep and dreaming has been overcome, several studies point out that emotional and perceptually vivid contents are more frequent when reported upon awakenings from this sleep stage. Actually, it is well-known that REM sleep plays a pivotal role in the processing of salient and emotional waking-life experiences, strongly contributing to the emotional memory consolidation. In this vein, we highlighted that, to some extent, neuroimaging studies showed that the processes that regulate dreaming and emotional salience in sleep mentation share similar neural substrates of those controlling emotions during wakefulness. Furthermore, the research on EEG correlates of the presence/absence of DE and the results on EEG pattern related to the incorporated memories converged to assign a crucial role of REM theta oscillations in emotional re-processing. In particular, the theta activity is involved in memory processes during REM sleep as well as during the waking state, in line with the continuity hypothesis. Also, the gamma activity seems to be related to emotional processes and dream recall as well as to lucid dreams. Interestingly, similar EEG correlates of DE have been found in clinical samples when nightmares or dreams occur. Research on clinical samples revealed that promoting the rehearsal of frightening contents aimed to change them is a promising method to treat nightmares, and that lucid dreams are associated with an attenuation of nightmares. In this view, DE can defuse emotional traumatic memories when the emotional regulation and the fear extinction mechanisms are compromised by traumatic and frightening events. Finally, dreams could represent a sort of simulation of reality, providing the possibility to create a new scenario with emotional mastery elements to cope with dysphoric items included in nightmares. In addition, it could be hypothesized that the insertion of bizarre items besides traumatic memories might be functional to "impoverish" the negative charge of the experiences.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Luigi De Gennaro
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
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The role of the basolateral amygdala in dreaming. Cortex 2018; 113:169-183. [PMID: 30660955 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2018.12.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2018] [Revised: 09/09/2018] [Accepted: 12/06/2018] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
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.
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Zhang W, Guo B. Freud's Dream Interpretation: A Different Perspective Based on the Self-Organization Theory of Dreaming. Front Psychol 2018; 9:1553. [PMID: 30190698 PMCID: PMC6115518 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01553] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2018] [Accepted: 08/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Wei Zhang
- Research Institute of Moral Education/School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China
| | - Benyu Guo
- Research Institute of Moral Education/School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China
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Muñoz-Torres Z, Velasco F, Velasco AL, Del Río-Portilla Y, Corsi-Cabrera M. Electrical activity of the human amygdala during all-night sleep and wakefulness. Clin Neurophysiol 2018; 129:2118-2126. [PMID: 30103160 DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2018.07.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2017] [Revised: 06/29/2018] [Accepted: 07/20/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The aim of the present work was to characterize the dynamics of the human amygdala across the different sleep stages and during wakefulness. METHODS Simultaneous intracranial electrical recordings of the amygdala, hippocampus, and scalp electroencephalography during spontaneous sleep polysomnography in four patients suffering from epilepsy were analyzed. RESULTS Power spectrum of the amygdala revealed no differences between rapid eye movement (REM) and wakefulness for all frequencies except higher power at 9 Hz during wakefulness and some low Gamma frequencies. Conversely, higher power was observed in non-REM (NREM) sleep than wakefulness for Delta, Theta and Sigma. CONCLUSIONS Our results showed similar activity in the amygdala between wakefulness and REM sleep suggesting that the amygdala is as active in REM as during wakefulness. The higher power in Sigma frequencies during NREM sleep suggests that amygdala slow activity may play a significant role during NREM in concurrence with hippocampal activity. SIGNIFICANCE While studies have described the metabolic activity of the human amygdala during sleep, our results show the corresponding electrical pattern during the whole night, pointing out an increase of slow activity during NREM sleep that might be subjected to similar influences as other subcortical brain structures, such as the hippocampus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeidy Muñoz-Torres
- Psicobiología & Neurociencias, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico; Centro de Ciencias de la Complejidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico.
| | - Francisco Velasco
- Clínica de Epilepsia, Unidad de Neurocirugía Funcional, Estereotaxia y Radiocirugía, Hospital General de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Ana L Velasco
- Clínica de Epilepsia, Unidad de Neurocirugía Funcional, Estereotaxia y Radiocirugía, Hospital General de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Yolanda Del Río-Portilla
- Laboratorio de Sueño, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - María Corsi-Cabrera
- Laboratorio de Sueño, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico; Unidad de Neurodesarrollo, Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Querétaro, Mexico.
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Goetzmann L, Ruettner B, Siegel A. Fantasy, dream, vision, and hallucination: Approaches from a parallactic neuro-psychoanalytic perspective. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018. [DOI: 10.1080/15294145.2018.1486730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Lutz Goetzmann
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Segeberg Hospitals, Am Kurpark 1, D - 23795 Bad Segeberg, Germany
| | - Barbara Ruettner
- Department of Health Psychology, Medical School Hamburg, Am Kaiserquai 1, D - 20547 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Adrian Siegel
- Neurozentrum Thalwil, Gotthardstrasse 52, CH – 8800 Thalwil, Switzerland
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Fabbro F, Fabbro A, Crescentini C. Contributions of Neuropsychology to the Study of Ancient Literature. Front Psychol 2018; 9:1092. [PMID: 30002642 PMCID: PMC6031863 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2018] [Accepted: 06/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The present work introduces the neuropsychological paradigm as a new approach to studying ancient literature. In the first part of the article, an epistemological framework for the proper use of neuropsychology in relation to ancient literature is presented. The article then discusses neuropsychological methods of studying different human experiences and dimensions already addressed by ancient literatures. The experiences of human encounters with gods among ancient cultures are first considered, through the contributions of Julian Jaynes and Eric R. Dodds. The concepts of right and left in the Bible, and that of soul are then discussed. Ecstatic experience in Paul of Tarsus is also presented, with a particular focus on glossolalia. Neuroscientific differences between mindful and unitive meditative practices are then described referring to ancient Buddhist literature, and finally a brief description of dreams in ancient Greek literature is proposed. Neuropsychology variously enables a more profound understanding of themes characterizing human experiences that ancient literature has already explored; these investigations prove that the collaboration of neuroscience and humanistic studies can return fruitful and interesting results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franco Fabbro
- Department of Medicine, University of Udine, Udine, Italy
- Perceptual Robotics (PERCRO) Laboratory, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa, Italy
| | - Anastasia Fabbro
- Department of Medicine, University of Udine, Udine, Italy
- Department of Psychology, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy
| | - Cristiano Crescentini
- Department of Languages and Literatures, Communication, Education and Society, University of Udine, Udine, Italy
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Abstract
BACKGROUND A resurgence of neurobiological and clinical research is currently underway into the therapeutic potential of serotonergic or 'classical' psychedelics, such as the prototypical psychedelic drug lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin (4-phosphoryloxy-N,Ndimethyltryptamine), and ayahuasca - a betacarboline- and dimethyltryptamine (DMT)-containing Amazonian beverage. The aim of this review is to introduce readers to the similarities and dissimilarities between psychedelic states and night dreams, and to draw conclusions related to therapeutic applications of psychedelics in psychiatry. METHODS Research literature related to psychedelics and dreaming is reviewed, and these two states of consciousness are systematically compared. Relevant conclusions with regard to psychedelicassisted therapy will be provided. RESULTS Common features between psychedelic states and night dreams include perception, mental imagery, emotion activation, fear memory extinction, and sense of self and body. Differences between these two states are related to differential perceptual input from the environment, clarity of consciousness and meta-cognitive abilities. Therefore, psychedelic states are closest to lucid dreaming which is characterized by a mixed state of dreaming and waking consciousness. CONCLUSION The broad overlap between dreaming and psychedelic states supports the notion that psychedelics acutely induce dreamlike subjective experiences which may have long-term beneficial effects on psychosocial functioning and well-being. Future clinical studies should examine how therapeutic outcome is related to the acute dreamlike effects of psychedelics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rainer Kraehenmann
- Neuropsychopharmacology and Brain Imaging, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich. Switzerland
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The Role of Sleep in Learning Placebo Effects. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF NEUROBIOLOGY 2018; 139:321-355. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2018.07.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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Pawlowski MA, Gazea M, Wollweber B, Dresler M, Holsboer F, Keck ME, Steiger A, Adamczyk M, Mikoteit T. Heart rate variability and cordance in rapid eye movement sleep as biomarkers of depression and treatment response. J Psychiatr Res 2017; 92:64-73. [PMID: 28411417 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2017.03.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2016] [Revised: 02/28/2017] [Accepted: 03/31/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The relevance of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep in affective disorders originates from its well-known abnormalities in depressed patients, who display disinhibition of REM sleep reflected by increased frequency of rapid eye movements (REM density). In this study we examined whether heart rate variability (HRV) and prefrontal theta cordance, both derived from REM sleep, could represent biomarkers of antidepressant treatment response. METHODS In an open-label, case-control design, thirty-three in-patients (21 females) with a depressive episode were treated with various antidepressants for four weeks. Response to treatment was defined as a ≥50% reduction of HAM-D score at the end of the fourth week. Sleep EEG was recorded after the first and the fourth week of medication. HRV was derived from 3-min artifact-free electrocardiogram segments during REM sleep. Cordance was computed for prefrontal EEG channels in the theta frequency band during tonic REM sleep. RESULTS HRV during REM sleep was decreased in depressed patients at week four as compared to controls (high effect size; Cohen's d > 1), and showed a negative correlation with REM density in both, healthy subjects and patients at week four. Further, the fourteen responders had significantly higher prefrontal theta cordance as compared to the nineteen non-responders after the first week of antidepressant medication; in contrast, HRV at week one did not discriminate between responders and non-responders. CONCLUSIONS Our data suggest that HRV in REM sleep categorizes healthy subjects and depressed patients, whereas REM sleep-derived prefrontal cordance may predict the response to antidepressant treatment in depressed patients.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mary Gazea
- Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany; University of Bern, Inselspital University Hospital, Department of Neurology, Bern, Switzerland
| | | | - Martin Dresler
- Radboud University Medical Centre, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | | | | | - Axel Steiger
- Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Marek Adamczyk
- Psychiatric Clinics of the University of Basel, Center for Affective, Stress and Sleep Disorders, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Thorsten Mikoteit
- Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany; Psychiatric Clinics of the University of Basel, Center for Affective, Stress and Sleep Disorders, Basel, Switzerland.
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Rek S, Sheaves B, Freeman D. Nightmares in the general population: identifying potential causal factors. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 2017; 52:1123-1133. [PMID: 28712041 PMCID: PMC5581821 DOI: 10.1007/s00127-017-1408-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2016] [Accepted: 06/15/2017] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Nightmares are inherently distressing, prevent restorative sleep, and are associated with a number of psychiatric problems, but have rarely been the subject of empirical study. Negative affect, linked to stressful events, is generally considered the key trigger of nightmares; hence nightmares have most often been considered in the context of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, many individuals with heightened negative affect do not have nightmares. The objective of this study was to identify mechanistically plausible factors, beyond negative affect, that may explain why individuals experience nightmares. METHOD 846 participants from the UK general population completed an online survey about nightmare occurrence and severity (pre-occupation, distress, and impairment), negative affect, worry, depersonalisation, hallucinatory experiences, paranoia, alcohol use, sleep duration, physical activity levels, PTSD symptoms, and stressful life events. Associations of nightmares with the putative predictive factors were tested controlling for levels of negative affect. Analyses were also repeated controlling for levels of PTSD and the recent occurrence of stressful life events. RESULTS Nightmare occurrence, adjusting for negative affect, was associated with higher levels of worry, depersonalisation, hallucinatory experiences, paranoia, and sleep duration (odds ratios 1.25-1.45). Nightmare severity, controlling for negative affect, was associated with higher levels of worry, depersonalisation, hallucinatory experiences, and paranoia (R 2s: 0.33-0.39). Alcohol use and physical activity levels were not associated with nightmares. DISCUSSION The study identifies a number of potential predictors of the occurrence and severity of nightmares. Causal roles require testing in future longitudinal, experimental, and treatment studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Rek
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, OX3 7JX, UK.
| | - Bryony Sheaves
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, OX3 7JX, UK
| | - Daniel Freeman
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, OX3 7JX, UK
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Speth C, Speth J. A New Measure of Hallucinatory States and a Discussion of REM Sleep Dreaming as a Virtual Laboratory for the Rehearsal of Embodied Cognition. Cogn Sci 2017; 42:311-333. [PMID: 28585737 DOI: 10.1111/cogs.12491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2016] [Revised: 10/30/2016] [Accepted: 12/01/2016] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Hallucinatory states are experienced not only in connection with drugs and psychopathologies but occur naturally and spontaneously across the human circadian cycle: Our nightly dreams bring multimodal experiences in the absence of adequate external stimuli. The current study proposes a new, tighter measure of these hallucinatory states: Sleep onset, REM sleep, and non-REM sleep are shown to differ with regard to (a) motor imagery indicating interactions with a rich imaginative world, and (b) cognitive agency that could enable sleepers to recognize their hallucinatory state. Mentation reports from the different states were analysed quantitatively with regard to two grammatical-semantic constructs, motor agency and cognitive agency. The present results support earlier physiological and psychological evidence in revealing a decline in cognitive functions and an increase in simulated interactions with a hallucinatory world, en route to normal REM sleep. This leads us to introduce the hypothesis that REM sleep, which exhibits remarkably high levels of (simulated) sensorimotor processes, may have evolved to serve as a virtual laboratory for the development and rehearsal of embodied cognition. The new measure of hallucinatory states presented here may also hold implications for the study of executive functions and (meta-)cognitions, which might be interesting, for example, for the investigation of lucid dreaming.
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Mutz J, Javadi AH. Exploring the neural correlates of dream phenomenology and altered states of consciousness during sleep. Neurosci Conscious 2017; 2017:nix009. [PMID: 30042842 PMCID: PMC6007136 DOI: 10.1093/nc/nix009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2016] [Revised: 03/29/2017] [Accepted: 04/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The science of dreaming constitutes a relevant topic in modern-day neuroscientific research and provides major insights into the study of human consciousness. Linking specific, universal, and regularly occurring stages of sleep with dreaming encourages the direct and systematic investigation of a topic that has fascinated humankind for centuries. In this review, we explore to what extent individuals dream during periods of rapid eye movement and non-rapid eye movement sleep, and we introduce research on lucid dreaming. We then discuss how dreaming during different stages of sleep varies in terms of phenomenological characteristics, and to what extent individuals are conscious throughout the sleep cycle. Finally, we provide a synopsis of the previous literature on brain activity during sleep, and we aim to clarify how the neurofunctional changes observed throughout sleep may lead to changes in phenomenological aspects of dreams, and in the domain of consciousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julian Mutz
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London W2 1PG, UK
| | - Amir-Homayoun Javadi
- School of Psychology, Keynes College, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7NP, UK
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Scarpelli S, D'Atri A, Mangiaruga A, Marzano C, Gorgoni M, Schiappa C, Ferrara M, De Gennaro L. Predicting Dream Recall: EEG Activation During NREM Sleep or Shared Mechanisms with Wakefulness? Brain Topogr 2017; 30:629-638. [PMID: 28434101 DOI: 10.1007/s10548-017-0563-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2016] [Accepted: 04/18/2017] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Serena Scarpelli
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via dei Marsi, 78, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Aurora D'Atri
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via dei Marsi, 78, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Anastasia Mangiaruga
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via dei Marsi, 78, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Cristina Marzano
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via dei Marsi, 78, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Maurizio Gorgoni
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via dei Marsi, 78, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Cinzia Schiappa
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via dei Marsi, 78, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Michele Ferrara
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila, Coppito, L'Aquila, Italy
| | - Luigi De Gennaro
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via dei Marsi, 78, 00185, Rome, Italy.
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Shen C, Wang J, Ma G, Zhu Q, He H, Ding Q, Fan H, Lu Y, Wang W. Waking-hour cerebral activations in nightmare disorder: A resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2016; 70:573-581. [PMID: 27611586 DOI: 10.1111/pcn.12455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2016] [Revised: 08/04/2016] [Accepted: 09/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
AIM The purpose of the current study was to explore the cerebral areas involved in nightmare disorder. METHODS Fifteen nightmare disorder patients and 15 healthy volunteers were invited to undergo resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and to complete the Nightmare Experience Questionnaire. RESULTS The nightmare disorder patients scored higher on the Physical Effect and Horrible Stimulation scales, had higher values of regional homogeneity in clusters within the left anterior cingulate cortex and right inferior parietal lobule, and lower regional homogeneity values within the left superior and inferior frontal gyri and bilateral middle occipital gyri. Physical Effect was negatively correlated with regional homogeneity values in anterior cingulate cortex and inferior parietal lobule in the nightmare disorder group, and was positively correlated with regional homogeneity value in the inferior frontal gyrus in the healthy control group. CONCLUSION To our best knowledge, this is the first neuroimaging study on nightmare disorder, and we have characterized the cerebral activities underlying altered hyperarousal and emotion regulation in nightmare disorder at resting-state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chanchan Shen
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry, Zhejiang University College of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jiawei Wang
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry, Zhejiang University College of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Guorong Ma
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry, Zhejiang University College of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Qisha Zhu
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry, Zhejiang University College of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Hongjian He
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Qiuping Ding
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Hongying Fan
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry, Zhejiang University College of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yanxia Lu
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry, Zhejiang University College of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Wei Wang
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry, Zhejiang University College of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
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45
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Koppehele-Gossel J, Klimke A, Schermelleh-Engel K, Voss U. A template model of embodiment while dreaming: Proposal of a mini-me. Conscious Cogn 2016; 46:148-162. [PMID: 27718407 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2016.09.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2015] [Revised: 09/03/2016] [Accepted: 09/28/2016] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Dreams are usually centered around a dream self capable of tasks generally impossible in waking, e.g. flying or walking through walls. Moreover, the bodily dream self appears relatively stable and insensitive to changes of the embodied wake self, raising the question of whether and to what extent the dream self is embodied. To further explore its determinants, we tested whether the dream self would be affected by either pre-sleep focused attention to a body part or by its experimental alteration during the day. Choosing a repeated-measures design, we analyzed how often key words reflecting the experimental manipulations appeared in the dream reports. Results suggest that the dream self is not affected by these manipulations, strengthening the hypothesis that, in the majority of dreams, the dream self is only weakly embodied, utilizing a standard template of embodiment akin to a prototype of self operating independently from the physical waking self.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ansgar Klimke
- Department of Psychiatry, Heinrich Heine University Duesseldorf, Germany; Department of Psychiatric Neurophysiology, VITOS Hochtaunus Klinik, Germany
| | | | - Ursula Voss
- Department of Psychiatric Neurophysiology, VITOS Hochtaunus Klinik, Germany; Department of Psychology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany
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46
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Cipolli C, Ferrara M, De Gennaro L, Plazzi G. Beyond the neuropsychology of dreaming: Insights into the neural basis of dreaming with new techniques of sleep recording and analysis. Sleep Med Rev 2016; 35:8-20. [PMID: 27569701 DOI: 10.1016/j.smrv.2016.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2015] [Revised: 07/14/2016] [Accepted: 07/14/2016] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Recent advances in electrophysiological [e.g., surface high-density electroencephalographic (hd-EEG) and intracranial recordings], video-polysomnography (video-PSG), transcranial stimulation and neuroimaging techniques allow more in-depth and more accurate investigation of the neural correlates of dreaming in healthy individuals and in patients with brain-damage, neurodegenerative diseases, sleep disorders or parasomnias. Convergent evidence provided by studies using these techniques in healthy subjects has led to a reformulation of several unresolved issues of dream generation and recall [such as the inter- and intra-individual differences in dream recall and the predictivity of specific EEG rhythms, such as theta in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, for dream recall] within more comprehensive models of human consciousness and its variations across sleep/wake states than the traditional models, which were largely based on the neurophysiology of REM sleep in animals. These studies are casting new light on the neural bases (in particular, the activity of dorsal medial prefrontal cortex regions and hippocampus and amygdala areas) of the inter- and intra-individual differences in dream recall, the temporal location of specific contents or properties (e.g., lucidity) of dream experience and the processing of memories accessed during sleep and incorporated into dream content. Hd-EEG techniques, used on their own or in combination with neuroimaging, appear able to provide further important insights into how the brain generates not only dreaming during sleep but also some dreamlike experiences in waking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlo Cipolli
- Department of Specialty, Diagnostic and Experimental Medicine, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Michele Ferrara
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy
| | - Luigi De Gennaro
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Roma, Roma, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Plazzi
- DIBINEM - Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy; IRCCS - Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche, AUSL di Bologna, Italy.
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47
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Speth J, Speth C. Motor imagery in REM sleep is increased by transcranial direct current stimulation of the left motor cortex (C3). Neuropsychologia 2016; 86:57-65. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2015] [Revised: 03/02/2016] [Accepted: 04/10/2016] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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48
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Corsi-Cabrera M, Velasco F, Del Río-Portilla Y, Armony JL, Trejo-Martínez D, Guevara MA, Velasco AL. Human amygdala activation during rapid eye movements of rapid eye movement sleep: an intracranial study. J Sleep Res 2016; 25:576-582. [PMID: 27146713 DOI: 10.1111/jsr.12415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2015] [Accepted: 03/12/2016] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The amygdaloid complex plays a crucial role in processing emotional signals and in the formation of emotional memories. Neuroimaging studies have shown human amygdala activation during rapid eye movement sleep (REM). Stereotactically implanted electrodes for presurgical evaluation in epileptic patients provide a unique opportunity to directly record amygdala activity. The present study analysed amygdala activity associated with REM sleep eye movements on the millisecond scale. We propose that phasic activation associated with rapid eye movements may provide the amygdala with endogenous excitation during REM sleep. Standard polysomnography and stereo-electroencephalograph (SEEG) were recorded simultaneously during spontaneous sleep in the left amygdala of four patients. Time-frequency analysis and absolute power of gamma activity were obtained for 250 ms time windows preceding and following eye movement onset in REM sleep, and in spontaneous waking eye movements in the dark. Absolute power of the 44-48 Hz band increased significantly during the 250 ms time window after REM sleep rapid eye movements onset, but not during waking eye movements. Transient activation of the amygdala provides physiological support for the proposed participation of the amygdala in emotional expression, in the emotional content of dreams and for the reactivation and consolidation of emotional memories during REM sleep, as well as for next-day emotional regulation, and its possible role in the bidirectional interaction between REM sleep and such sleep disorders as nightmares, anxiety and post-traumatic sleep disorder. These results provide unique, direct evidence of increased activation of the human amygdala time-locked to REM sleep rapid eye movements.
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Affiliation(s)
- María Corsi-Cabrera
- Laboratorio de Sueño, Facultad de Psicología, Posgrado, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, México.
| | - Francisco Velasco
- Clínica de Epilepsia, Unidad de Neurocirugía Funcional, Estereotaxia y Radiocirugía, Hospital General de México, México, México
| | - Yolanda Del Río-Portilla
- Laboratorio de Sueño, Facultad de Psicología, Posgrado, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, México
| | - Jorge L Armony
- Department of Psychiatry and Douglas Health Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - David Trejo-Martínez
- Clínica de Epilepsia, Unidad de Neurocirugía Funcional, Estereotaxia y Radiocirugía, Hospital General de México, México, México
| | - Miguel A Guevara
- Instituto de Neurociencias, Universidad de Guadalajara, México, México
| | - Ana L Velasco
- Clínica de Epilepsia, Unidad de Neurocirugía Funcional, Estereotaxia y Radiocirugía, Hospital General de México, México, México
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50
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Kahan TL, Claudatos S. Phenomenological features of dreams: Results from dream log studies using the Subjective Experiences Rating Scale (SERS). Conscious Cogn 2016; 41:159-76. [DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2016.02.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2015] [Revised: 01/01/2016] [Accepted: 02/10/2016] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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