1
|
Gott J, Bovy L, Peters E, Tzioridou S, Meo S, Demirel Ç, Esfahani MJ, Oliveira PR, Houweling T, Orticoni A, Rademaker A, Booltink D, Varatheeswaran R, van Hooijdonk C, Chaabou M, Mangiaruga A, van den Berge E, Weber FD, Ritter S, Dresler M. Virtual reality training of lucid dreaming. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20190697. [PMID: 33308070 PMCID: PMC7741087 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Metacognitive reflections on one's current state of mind are largely absent during dreaming. Lucid dreaming as the exception to this rule is a rare phenomenon; however, its occurrence can be facilitated through cognitive training. A central idea of respective training strategies is to regularly question one's phenomenal experience: is the currently experienced world real, or just a dream? Here, we tested if such lucid dreaming training can be enhanced with dream-like virtual reality (VR): over the course of four weeks, volunteers underwent lucid dreaming training in VR scenarios comprising dream-like elements, classical lucid dreaming training or no training. We found that VR-assisted training led to significantly stronger increases in lucid dreaming compared to the no-training condition. Eye signal-verified lucid dreams during polysomnography supported behavioural results. We discuss the potential mechanisms underlying these findings, in particular the role of synthetic dream-like experiences, incorporation of VR content in dream imagery serving as memory cues, and extended dissociative effects of VR session on subsequent experiences that might amplify lucid dreaming training during wakefulness. This article is part of the theme issue 'Offline perception: voluntary and spontaneous perceptual experiences without matching external stimulation'.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jarrod Gott
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Leonore Bovy
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Emma Peters
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Sofia Tzioridou
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychology, Philipps University, Marburg, Germany
| | - Stefano Meo
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Çağatay Demirel
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Mahdad Jafarzadeh Esfahani
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Pedro Reis Oliveira
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Thomas Houweling
- Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Anke Rademaker
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Diede Booltink
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | | | - Carmen van Hooijdonk
- School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- Rivierduinen Institute for Mental Healthcare, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Mahmoud Chaabou
- Rivierduinen Institute for Mental Healthcare, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | | - Erik van den Berge
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences (DIMEC), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Frederik D. Weber
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Simone Ritter
- Institute for Management Research, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Martin Dresler
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Gott J, Rak M, Bovy L, Peters E, van Hooijdonk CFM, Mangiaruga A, Varatheeswaran R, Chaabou M, Gorman L, Wilson S, Weber F, Talamini L, Steiger A, Dresler M. Sleep fragmentation and lucid dreaming. Conscious Cogn 2020; 84:102988. [PMID: 32768920 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2020.102988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2019] [Revised: 07/02/2020] [Accepted: 07/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Lucid dreaming-the phenomenon of experiencing waking levels of self-reflection within one's dreams-is associated with more wake-like levels of neural activation in prefrontal brain regions. In addition, alternating periods of wakefulness and sleep might increase the likelihood of experiencing a lucid dream. Here we investigate the association between sleep fragmentation and lucid dreaming, with a multi-centre study encompassing four different investigations into subjective and objective measures of sleep fragmentation, nocturnal awakenings, sleep quality and polyphasic sleep schedules. Results across these four studies provide a more nuanced picture into the purported connection between sleep fragmentation and lucid dreaming: While self-assessed numbers of awakenings, polyphasic sleep and physiologically validated wake-REM sleep transitions were associated with lucid dreaming, neither self-assessed sleep quality, nor physiologically validated numbers of awakenings were. We discuss these results, and their underlying neural mechanisms, within the general question of whether sleep fragmentation and lucid dreaming share a causal link.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jarrod Gott
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Michael Rak
- Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Leonore Bovy
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Emma Peters
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Carmen F M van Hooijdonk
- School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Rivierduinen Institute for Mental Healthcare, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Anastasia Mangiaruga
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Axel Steiger
- Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Martin Dresler
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
| |
Collapse
|