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Anesthesiology Apr 2012Consciousness is subjective experience. During both sleep and anesthesia, consciousness is common, evidenced by dreaming. A defining feature of dreaming is that, while... (Review)
Review
Consciousness is subjective experience. During both sleep and anesthesia, consciousness is common, evidenced by dreaming. A defining feature of dreaming is that, while conscious, we do not experience our environment; we are disconnected. Besides inducing behavioral unresponsiveness, a key goal of anesthesia is to prevent the experience of surgery (connected consciousness), by inducing either unconsciousness or disconnection of consciousness from the environment. Review of the isolated forearm technique demonstrates that consciousness, connectedness, and responsiveness uncouple during anesthesia; in clinical conditions, a median 37% of patients demonstrate connected consciousness. We describe potential neurobiological constructs that can explain this phenomenon: during light anesthesia the subcortical mechanisms subserving spontaneous behavioral responsiveness are disabled but information integration within the corticothalamic network continues to produce consciousness, and unperturbed norepinephrinergic signaling maintains connectedness. These concepts emphasize the need for developing anesthetic regimens and depth of anesthesia monitors that specifically target mechanisms of consciousness, connectedness, and responsiveness.
Topics: Anesthesia; Animals; Consciousness; Dreams; Electroencephalography; Humans; Sleep; Unconsciousness; Wakefulness
PubMed: 22314293
DOI: 10.1097/ALN.0b013e318249d0a7 -
Journal of Sleep Research Aug 2022Several studies have tried to identify the neurobiological bases of dream experiences, nevertheless some questions are still at the centre of the debate. Here, we... (Review)
Review
Several studies have tried to identify the neurobiological bases of dream experiences, nevertheless some questions are still at the centre of the debate. Here, we summarise the main open issues concerning the neuroscientific study of dreaming. After overcoming the rapid eye movement (REM) - non-REM (NREM) sleep dichotomy, investigations have focussed on the specific functional or structural brain features predicting dream experience. On the one hand, some results underlined that specific trait-like factors are associated with higher dream recall frequency. On the other hand, the electrophysiological milieu preceding dream report upon awakening is a crucial state-like factor influencing the subsequent recall. Furthermore, dreaming is strictly related to waking experiences. Based on the continuity hypothesis, some findings reveal that dreaming could be modulated through visual, olfactory, or somatosensory stimulations. Also, it should be considered that the indirect access to dreaming remains an intrinsic limitation. Recent findings have revealed a greater concordance between parasomnia-like events and dream contents. This means that parasomnia episodes might be an expression of the ongoing mental sleep activity and could represent a viable direct access to dream experience. Finally, we provide a picture on nightmares and emphasise the possible role of oneiric activity in psychotherapy. Overall, further efforts in dream science are needed (a) to develop a uniform protocol to study dream experience, (b) to introduce and integrate advanced techniques to better understand whether dreaming can be manipulated, (c) to clarify the relationship between parasomnia events and dreaming, and (d) to determine the clinical valence of dreams.
Topics: Dreams; Humans; Mental Recall; Parasomnias; Sleep; Sleep, REM
PubMed: 35417930
DOI: 10.1111/jsr.13609 -
Journal of the American Heart... May 2021
Topics: Dreams; Humans; Stents; Thrombosis
PubMed: 33870700
DOI: 10.1161/JAHA.121.020728 -
Medicine Sep 2020Early life family relationships affect the sexuality in adulthood, and these influences might be reflected in sexual dreams. The present study was designed to... (Observational Study)
Observational Study
Early life family relationships affect the sexuality in adulthood, and these influences might be reflected in sexual dreams. The present study was designed to investigate the exact associations between family relationships and sexual dream experience. We therefore invited 62 frequent sexual dreamers (dreamers) and 104 healthy volunteers (controls) to answer the Sexual Dream Experience Questionnaire (SDEQ) and the Family Relationship Questionnaire (FRQ). Compared to controls, dreamers scored higher on all SDEQ factors and sexual dream frequency, higher on FRQ Paternal Abuse, and lower on FRQ General Attachment and Maternal Freedom Release. In controls, Paternal Abuse was associated with Joyfulness, Maternal Dominance with Aversion, and Maternal Abuse with dream frequency (-). In dreamers, Paternal Abuse was associated with Aversion, Bizarreness and dream frequency, and Maternal Freedom Release with Aversion (-). In conclusion, there were pronounced associations between sexual dreams and family relationships in frequent sexual dreamers. Paternal Abuse in particular was associated with sexual dream experience. Adverse family relationships might induce frequent sexual dream occurrence, and family therapy or early intervention of Paternal Abuse might alleviate the negative sexual dream experience.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Case-Control Studies; Dreams; Family Relations; Female; Healthy Volunteers; Humans; Male; Sexuality; Young Adult
PubMed: 32899040
DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000021981 -
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews Jul 2022According to several influential models, dreams can be affected by state- and trait-like factors, sleep features, and diurnal experiences. The COVID-19 pandemic globally... (Review)
Review
According to several influential models, dreams can be affected by state- and trait-like factors, sleep features, and diurnal experiences. The COVID-19 pandemic globally affected daily habits, emotional experiences, and sleep. Previous studies suggested an influence of collective traumatic events on dreaming. Starting from these premises, several studies assessed the effect of the pandemic on dreams. This paper aims to review findings concerning the oneiric activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. We report pandemic-related changes in dreams and nightmares, and we consider the possible factors associated with dreaming. Moreover, we provide results about changes in the oneiric activity in different phases of the pandemic. The reviewed findings suggest a pandemic-related enhancement of dream and nightmare frequency, emotional intensity, and distressing contents, modulated by modifications in restrictive measures and associated with diurnal experiences, emotional status, and sleep pattern. We highlight several methodological issues and a large heterogeneity in the present literature, limiting results' generalizability. However, we provide possible interpretations of the most consistent findings in light of the main theoretical frameworks about dreaming.
Topics: COVID-19; Dreams; Emotions; Humans; Pandemics; Sleep
PubMed: 35643121
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104710 -
British Medical Journal (Clinical... Aug 1983
Topics: Animals; Dreams; Humans; Psychoanalytic Interpretation; Sleep, REM; Tachyglossidae
PubMed: 6411198
DOI: 10.1136/bmj.287.6391.512 -
Tidsskrift For Den Norske Laegeforening... Dec 2018The author Edgar Allan Poe is one of many artists who describe how it feels to live with major, involuntary changes of consciousness. Are the large upturns and downturns...
The author Edgar Allan Poe is one of many artists who describe how it feels to live with major, involuntary changes of consciousness. Are the large upturns and downturns in his life attributable to a neurological conditions, or can substance use and depressive thoughts explain these fluctuations?
Topics: Alcoholic Intoxication; Consciousness; Dreams; Famous Persons; History, 19th Century; Humans; Memory; Nervous System Diseases; Poetry as Topic; United States
PubMed: 30539608
DOI: 10.4045/tidsskr.18.0616 -
Consciousness and Cognition Sep 2020Lucid 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...
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.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Dreams; Female; Humans; Male; Metacognition; Middle Aged; Sleep Deprivation; Sleep, REM; Wakefulness; Young Adult
PubMed: 32768920
DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2020.102988 -
The American Journal on Addictions Jan 2022Drug-related dreams are commonly reported by individuals in treatment for substance use disorders, which may be distressing. Existing evidence suggests that dream...
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Drug-related dreams are commonly reported by individuals in treatment for substance use disorders, which may be distressing. Existing evidence suggests that dream recollection may be influenced by clinically relevant phenomena, such as opioid use and withdrawal, general sleep disturbance, affective symptoms, and chronic pain. However, very few studies have explored drug-related dreams among individuals who screened positive for opioid use disorder (OUD).
METHODS
Adults recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) who screened positive for OUD (Nā=ā154) completed a questionnaire about drug-related dreams, as well as measures assessing sleep, opioid use history, stress, anxiety, and chronic pain. Ļ analyses, one-way analysis of variance, and bivariate correlations, correcting for the false discovery rate, were used as appropriate to explore correlates of (1) recollecting a drug-related dream, and (2) experiencing post-dream craving and distress.
RESULTS
Individuals who recollected a past-week drug-related dream were more likely to report other recent sleep disturbances, including poorer sleep quality, greater insomnia symptoms, and a higher risk for sleep apnea. Post-dream craving and distress were both associated with greater insomnia symptoms, poor sleep hygiene behaviors, and greater anxiety symptoms. Individuals who had ever experienced a drug-related dream (recently, or in their lifetime) were more likely to report a history of severe withdrawal, overdose, and intravenous opioid use.
CONCLUSION AND SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE
Drug-related dreams were common among individuals in the present sample and were related to other clinically relevant phenomena. Interventions that treat co-occurring OUD, pain, sleep symptoms, and affective symptoms may improve overall well-being in this population.
Topics: Adult; Affective Symptoms; Anxiety; Dreams; Humans; Opioid-Related Disorders; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders
PubMed: 34459058
DOI: 10.1111/ajad.13219 -
Current Neuropharmacology 2017A resurgence of neurobiological and clinical research is currently underway into the therapeutic potential of serotonergic or 'classical' psychedelics, such as the... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study Review
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.
Topics: Animals; Brain; Dreams; Hallucinogens; Humans; Mental Disorders
PubMed: 28625125
DOI: 10.2174/1573413713666170619092629