Usefulness of the analysis of links among dream sources in therapy.

A study of the links among the memory sources of dreams can be carried out by means of an automatic analysis of text files including dream reports and associations. Heuristic criteria can provide plausible explanations for the existence of these links, which generally present a logical and at the same time emotional significance. The aim of this paper is to support the idea that the study of the link patterns among dream sources, in addition to being interesting from the cognitive viewpoint can be also useful for the therapeutic process. An interaction schema is described including four operators: the dreamer (patient), the therapist, the detector of possible links, and the proposer of plausible explanations. Two examples are given of application of this schema. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Detecting meaning in dream reports: An extension of a word search approach.

Building on previous investigations of waking–dreaming continuities using word search technology (Bulkeley 2009a, 2009b; Domhoff & Schneider, 2008), we demonstrate that a blind analysis of a dream series using only word search methods can accurately predict many important aspects of the individual's waking life, including personality attributes, relationships, activities, and cultural preferences. Results from a study of the “Van” dream series (N = 192) show that blind inferences drawn from a word search analysis were almost entirely accurate according to the dreamer. After presenting these findings we discuss several remaining shortcomings and suggest ways of improving the method for use by other researchers involved in the search for a more systematic understanding of meaning in dreams. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Historical Loop of One Hundred Years: Similarities Between 19th Century and Contemporary Dream Research

Contemporary cognitive and neuropsychological approaches to dreaming show striking methodological and conceptual similarities with the scientific dream literature of the last century. The use of introspective dream reports and the emphasis on dream phenomenology are characteristic of both periods but were bannished during the first half of this century, the former by behaviorism, the latter by psychoanalysis. Three main common axioms of 19th century and contemporary dream research are described: (a) dream experience results from cognitive syntheses realized in the absence of external constraints; (b) dream narrative or dream coherency involves mental associative mechanisms; (c) dream bizarreness emerges from a cerebral state characterized by functional dissociation. According to these three axioms, the observation of dream phenomena reveals that distinct cognitive processes might function in a partly autonomous, automatic, and dissociated way, making dreaming a unique model of these cognitive processes.     

Dreaming correlates of alexithymia among sleep-disordered patients.

Increasing evidence supports the clinical view that alexithymia is associated with disturbed dreaming. However, a consistent, replicable pattern of relationships between alexithymia and different dreaming components has not yet been identified. Groups of sleep-disordered outpatients (N = 580; 46.0 ± 13.2 years) and nonclinical controls (N = 145; 22.9 ± 4.2 years) were administered the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and a 14-item Dreaming Questionnaire. Sleep diagnoses were assessed from polysomnography and clinical histories following the American Academy of Sleep Medicine classification system. The Dreaming Questionnaire was reduced by principal-components analysis to a 3-factor solution that distinguishes nightmare distress, dream recall, and dream meaning items. Factor coefficients were correlated with TAS total score and TAS subscales while age was controlled as a covariate. TAS total score was found to correlate positively with nightmare distress and negatively with dream recall for both clinical and nonclinical groups and for both men and women considered separately. TAS total score also correlated negatively with dream meaning for nonclinical participants. TAS subscales were differentially correlated with the 3 dream factors: difficulty identifying feelings (DIF) with increased nightmare distress, difficulty describing feelings (DDF) with decreased dream recall and externally oriented thinking (EOT) with decreased dream meaning. With some exceptions, these patterns were obtained independently for clinical and nonclinical groups and for men and women within these groups. Findings suggest a consistent and replicable pattern of relationships between alexithymia and dreaming components that implicates processes regulating emotion during both wakefulness and dreaming, for example, affect distress, expressive anxiety, and openness to experience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dreamed movement elicits activation in the sensorimotor cortex

Since the discovery of the close association between rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and dreaming, much effort has been devoted to link physiological signatures of REM sleep to the contents of associated dreams [1-4]. Due to the impossibility of experimentally controlling spontaneous dream activity, however, a direct demonstration of dream contents by neuroimaging methods is lacking. By combining brain imaging with polysomnography and exploiting the state of "lucid dreaming," we show here that a predefined motor task performed during dreaming elicits neuronal activation in the sensorimotor cortex. In lucid dreams, the subject is aware of the dreaming state and capable of performing predefined actions while all standard polysomnographic criteria of REM sleep are fulfilled [5, 6]. Using eye signals as temporal markers, neural activity measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was related to dreamed hand movements during lucid REM sleep. Though preliminary, we provide first evidence that specific contents of REM-associated dreaming can be visualized by neuroimaging.     

Using dreams in cognitive behavioral psychotherapy: Theory, method, and examples.

Dream analysis can be a fruitful complementary technique in cognitive–behavioral therapy, providing it is based on a theoretical conception of dreaming and an interpretation method that are both compatible with the principles and methodology of CBT. The present paper first presents some aspects of a cognitive conception of dreaming explaining the occurrence and specificities of dream representations by their production processes. The next section describes an interpretation method that gives the patients the opportunity to find some sources and meanings of their dreams. Finally examples are given of the different ways in which the result of a dream interpretation contributed to therapy. Thanks to their condensed and often exaggerated treatment of a theme, dreams often facilitate becoming aware of cognitive distortions and schemas and help to proceed to cognitive restructuring. They also give to the therapists an opportunity to underline the patient’s resources. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Definitions of Dream: A Paradigm for Comparing Field Descriptive Specific Studies of Dream

A single definition for dreaming is most likely impossible given the wide spectrum of fields engaged in the study of dreaming, and the diversity in currently applied definitions. Many studies do not specify a definition, yet results are likely to be comparable only when comparable definitions of the topic are used. The alternative is to develop a classification system organizing the multiplicity of definitions for dream. A dream should not be exclusively defined as a non-conscious electrophysiologic state. Dreaming is, at least in part, a mental experience that can be described during waking consciousness. Definitions for dreaming should be utilized in research and discussion which address the various axes which define dreaming: Wake/sleep, Recall, and Content.     

Verbal Aspects of Dreaming: A Preliminary Classification

Despite the fact that a handful of modern dream researchers have called attention to a link between language and dreaming, beginning with Freud (1900) and Kraepelin (1906), and continuing to the present (e.g. Heynick 1993), much remains to be understood about the role of language in dreaming. Certain commonly reported phenomena may be taken as evidence that the linguistic system is active during dreaming. Four categories of dream phenomena are described and illustrated to support the claim that verbal thought is an important component of dream formation and content.     

Dream Recall Frequency and Dream Detail as Mediated by Personality, Behavior, and Attitude

Many studies investigated how personality, behavior, and attitude mediate dream recall, but few distinguish between measures of dream recall frequency: the number of dreams experienced in a specified time frame and dream detail: individual ratings of vividness or detailed content of dreams. This study compared undergraduates' (n = 173) self-reported dream recall frequency, and dream detail, with behaviors, attitude toward dreaming, and scores on scales of Extraversion/Introversion and Type A/B. Dream recall frequency and dream detail manifested different patterns of association in relation to behaviors, attitude and personality. Dream recall frequency was associated with the frequency of experiencing emotionally disturbing dreams and trying to interpret dreams, while detail of dreams was associated with positive attitude toward dreaming and Type B personality. Although males and females both held positive attitudes toward dreaming, females experienced more emotionally disturbing dreams and felt unable to control their dreams. Interactions between personality and gender emerged for behaviors associated with dreaming. Researchers are encouraged to differentiate between dream recall frequency and dream detail.     

Austrian Dream Behavior: Results of a Representative Population Survey

This study was based on a survey of a representative sample of 1000 Austrians who were questioned about their sleep and dream behavior. About two-thirds of the respondents reported that they generally recalled at least one dream per month. Dream recall frequency decreased with advancing age, but did not differ between men and women. Fifty-five percent of the respondents characterized the affective content of their dreams: 29% reported neutral, 20% positive, and 6% negative dreams. Four percent of the sample reported suffering from nightmares. These respondents more frequently reported snoring, interrupted sleep, daytime somnolence, anxiety and nervousness, depression, high dream recall, recurrent dreams, and dreaming in color. Twenty-six percent of the total sample reported that sometimes they realized during their dreams that they were dreaming. These respondents more frequently reported family problems, high dream recall, positive dream content, recurrent dreams, dreaming in color, and nightmares.     

Paranoia in dreams and the classification of typical dreams.

The present study was geared toward expanding the previous evidence for the thematic similarities between dreaming and psychosis. Themes derived from delusions that characterize psychotic and schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, together with the modified Typical Dream Questionnaire, were administered to 280 Chinese participants from Hong Kong. These delusional themes served as some continuous variables for evaluating the degree to which the narrative contents of dreaming can be compared with those of psychotic and schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. It was found that delusions of various types, with various levels of bizarreness, could be observed in dreams. This was particularly true for themes involving paranoid suspiciousness, such as blaming others for making troubles and feeling that others are not giving proper credit for one’s achievements, which were dreamed by a majority of the participants. The current findings generated by the exploratory factor analyses precisely replicated Yu’s (2009) previous delusional model that classified dream themes into the Ego Ideal, Grandiosity, and Persecution categories. Moreover, the present study expanded the Ego Ideal category, developed measures for assessing the delusional inclination during dreaming, and discussed the reciprocal, triadic dynamics between the three major categories of dream themes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reply to Domhoff (2004): Dream Research in the Court of Public Opinion.

The author responds to Domhoff's critique (see record 2004-11640-001). He argues that the REM = dreaming equation was widely accepted at the time of his research. Misgivings about this equation by specialists in the dream research community were not shared by the wider public. The impression that the REM = dreaming equation disproves Freudian dream theory was actively propagated to this wider public between the 1970s and 1990s. The author's aim in the nonspecialist book criticized by Domhoff was to correct that specific misimpression, not to review the world literature. The author concludes with a brief statement of his views on Freudian dream theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A New Neurocognitive Theory of Dreams

Discoveries in three distinct areas of dream research make it possible to suggest the outlines of a new neurocognitive theory of dreaming. The first relevant findings come from assessments of patients with brain injuries, which show that lesions in different areas have differential effects on dreaming and thereby imply the contours of the neural network necessary for dreaming. The second set of results comes from work with children ages 3–15 in the sleep laboratory, which reveals that only 20–30% of REM period awakenings lead to dream reports up to age 9 and that the dreams of children under age 5 are bland and static in content. The third set of findings comes from a rigorous system of content analysis, which demonstrates the repetitive nature of much dream content and that dream content in general is continuous with waking conceptions and emotional preoccupations. Based on these findings, dreaming is best understood as a developmental cognitive achievement that depends upon the maturation and maintenance of a specific network of forebrain structures. The output of this neural network for dreaming is guided by a continuity principle linked to current personal concerns on the one hand and a repetition principle rooted in past emotional preoccupations on the other.     

Gender differences in dreams: Applications to dream work with male clients.

Differences between the dreams of men and women have been a topic of interest and research in the field of dream science. This article focuses on three such gender differences in dreaming, namely, dream recall frequency, sex of dream character and dream aggression. For each gender difference, a review of literature is presented, along with a discussion of possible causes for the difference between genders. In addition, suggestions are made for applications to clinical practice with a focus on gender-specific dream work strategies for work with male clients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychophysiological correlates of lucid dreaming.

The main goal of the present study was to explore electrophysiological differences between lucid and nonlucid dreams in REM sleep. Seven men and four women experienced in lucid dreaming underwent polysomnographic recordings in the sleep laboratory on two consecutive nights. EEG signals were subjected to spectral analysis to obtain five different frequency bands between 1 and 20 Hz. Lucidity was determined by both subjective dream reports and eye-movement signals made by the subjects in response to light stimuli indicating a REM period. The main discrimination factor between lucid and nonlucid dreaming was found in the beta-1 frequency band (13-19 Hz), which in lucid dreaming was increased in both parietal regions. The ratio of frontal to parietal beta-1 activity was 1 to 1.16 in nonlucid and 1 to 1.77 in lucid dreaming. A tendency towards the greatest increase was observed in the left parietal lobe (P3), an area of the brain considered to be related to semantic understanding and self-awareness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Virtual reality training of lucid dreaming

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''.     

Dream Practices in Medieval Tibet

This essay presents a variety of medieval Tibetan Buddhist dream practices culled from many different sources, such as medical texts, biographies, religious texts, and folklore. Some of this material is here translated into English for the first time. The dreaming techniques presented in these texts bring out religious and philosophical connections between body and consciousness. The range and diversity of the original sources required a broad interdisciplinary approach using literary studies, religious studies, philosophy, linguistics, and other disciplines.     

Effects of Somatosensory Stimulation on Dream Content in Gymnasts and Control Participants: Evidence of Vestibulomotor Adaptation in REM Sleep

Somatosensory stimulation of the leg muscles in REM sleep appears to perturb virtual orientation in dream experiences. According to our model of vestibulomotor adaptation (Sauvageau, Nielsen, & Montplaisir, 1996), the dreaming mind attempts to compensate for such destabilizing stimulation by increasing eye movement activity or by modifying dream content, among other possible reactions. Effective compensation may be more easily achieved by participants who are adapted to the disruptive stimulation or who possess highly developed vestibulomotor skills. To examine this possibility, we studied the effects of Somatosensory stimulation on the dreams of 6 gymnasts and 6 control participants aged 9 to 16 years. Results provide some support for the expectations that 1) imposed Somatosensory information is processed by the central nervous system in REM sleep, 2) unilateral stimulation induces an upset in virtual orientation, 3) gymnasts are more resistant to these disruptive effects of stimulation than are control participants, and 4) because of long-term adaptation, the dream content of gymnasts does not differ markedly from that of controls. Though preliminary and in need of replication, the findings are compatible with the notion that the developed vestibular skills of gymnasts protects them to some extent from the effects of a disruptive Somatosensory stimulus during sleep.