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Dream emotions: a comparison of home dream reports with laboratory early and late REM dream reports.Journal of Sleep Research Apr 2018The aim of this study was to compare the emotional content of dream reports collected at home upon morning awakenings with those collected in the laboratory upon early... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study
The aim of this study was to compare the emotional content of dream reports collected at home upon morning awakenings with those collected in the laboratory upon early and late rapid eye movement (REM) sleep awakenings. Eighteen adults (11 women, seven men; mean age = 25.89 ± 4.85) wrote down their home dreams every morning immediately upon awakening during a 7-day period. Participants also spent two non-consecutive nights in the sleep laboratory where they were awoken 5 min into each continuous REM sleep stage, upon which they gave a verbal dream report. The content of a total of 151 home and 120 laboratory dream reports was analysed by two blind judges using the modified Differential Emotions Scale. It was found that: (1) home dream reports were more emotional than laboratory early REM dream reports, but not more emotional than laboratory late REM dream reports; (2) home dream reports contained a higher density of emotions than laboratory (early or late REM) dream reports; and (3) home dream reports were more negative than laboratory dream reports, but differences between home and early REM reports were larger than those between home and late REM reports. The results suggest that differences between home and laboratory dream reports in overall emotionality may be due to the time of night effect. Whether differences in the density of emotions and negative emotionality are due to sleep environment or due to different reporting procedures and time spent in a sleep stage, respectively, remains to be determined in future studies.
Topics: Adult; Dreams; Emotions; Environment; Female; Humans; Laboratories; Male; Self Report; Sleep Stages; Sleep, REM; Time Factors; Wakefulness; Young Adult
PubMed: 28568911
DOI: 10.1111/jsr.12555 -
The International Journal of... Feb 2017This interdisciplinary article takes a philosophical approach to The Interpretation of Dreams, connecting Freud to one of the few philosophers with whom he sometimes... (Review)
Review
This interdisciplinary article takes a philosophical approach to The Interpretation of Dreams, connecting Freud to one of the few philosophers with whom he sometimes identified - Immanuel Kant. It aims to show that Freud's theory of dreams has more in common with Bion's later thoughts on dreaming than is usually recognized. Distinguishing, via a discussion of Kant, between the conflicting 'epistemological' and 'anthropological' aspects of The Interpretation of Dreams, it shows that one specific contradiction in the book - concerning the relation between dream-work and waking thought - can be understood in terms of the tension between these conflicting aspects. Freud reaches the explicit conclusion that the dream-work and waking thought differ from each other absolutely; but the implicit conclusion of The Interpretation of Dreams is quite the opposite. This article argues that the explicit conclusion is the result of the epistemological aspects of the book; the implicit conclusion, which brings Freud much closer to Bion, the result of the anthropological approach. Bringing philosophy and psychoanalysis together this paper thus argues for an interpretation of The Interpretation of Dreams that is in some ways at odds with the standard view of the book, while also suggesting that aspects of Kant's 'anthropological' works might legitimately be seen as a precursor of psychoanalysis.
Topics: Anthropology; Dreams; Humans; Knowledge; Philosophy; Psychoanalytic Interpretation; Psychoanalytic Theory
PubMed: 27435256
DOI: 10.1111/1745-8315.12564 -
International Journal of Environmental... Sep 2019Sleep significantly changes across the lifespan, and several studies underline its crucial role in cognitive functioning. Similarly, mental activity during sleep tends... (Review)
Review
Sleep significantly changes across the lifespan, and several studies underline its crucial role in cognitive functioning. Similarly, mental activity during sleep tends to covary with age. This review aims to analyze the characteristics of dreaming and disturbing dreams at different age brackets. On the one hand, dreams may be considered an expression of brain maturation and cognitive development, showing relations with memory and visuo-spatial abilities. Some investigations reveal that specific electrophysiological patterns, such as frontal theta oscillations, underlie dreams during sleep, as well as episodic memories in the waking state, both in young and older adults. On the other hand, considering the role of dreaming in emotional processing and regulation, the available literature suggests that mental sleep activity could have a beneficial role when stressful events occur at different age ranges. We highlight that nightmares and bad dreams might represent an attempt to cope the adverse events, and the degrees of cognitive-brain maturation could impact on these mechanisms across the lifespan. Future investigations are necessary to clarify these relations. Clinical protocols could be designed to improve cognitive functioning and emotional regulation by modifying the dream contents or the ability to recall/non-recall them.
Topics: Brain; Cognition; Dreams; Humans; Memory, Episodic; Mental Recall; Sleep
PubMed: 31569467
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16193658 -
Journal of the National Medical... Mar 1993Nightmares are unpleasant or frightening dreams that occur sporadically in virtually all children. The peak incidence occurs between 3 and 6 years of age. Developmental,... (Review)
Review
Nightmares are unpleasant or frightening dreams that occur sporadically in virtually all children. The peak incidence occurs between 3 and 6 years of age. Developmental, genetic, psychological, and organic factors have been identified as causes of nightmares. Nightmares usually occur in the middle of the night or in the early morning when rapid eye movement sleep is more common. The content of the nightmare almost always involves a specific danger to the child. On awakening, the child is fully alert, may be easily calmed or comforted, and can usually recall the details of the nightmare. Sporadic nightmares are common in children and require reassurance only. If nightmares are frequent and persistent, a psychological evaluation of the child and family is indicated.
Topics: Adolescent; Child; Child, Preschool; Counseling; Diagnosis, Differential; Dreams; Female; Humans; Male; Prevalence; Sleep; Sleep Wake Disorders
PubMed: 8474139
DOI: No ID Found -
The Journal of Analytical Psychology Jun 2021This paper attempts to read the psychological and emotional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic through the archetypal images contained in patients' dreams. In these dreams,...
This paper attempts to read the psychological and emotional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic through the archetypal images contained in patients' dreams. In these dreams, symbols related to the power of nature and to extreme danger are paired with feelings of detachment that seem to point to a traumatic dissociation, due to the archetypal experience that erupts in familiar surroundings. Through the humanization of the ineffable experience, dissociation, which in the beginning of the pandemic showed in high levels of anxiety, panic attacks and depersonalization, can be transformed into the overview needed for the search for meaning. The container for this process of transformation is the analyst, the real, virtual or imagined one, and his or her ability to relate and feel.
Topics: Adult; COVID-19; Dreams; Humans; Professional-Patient Relations; Psychoanalytic Interpretation; Psychoanalytic Therapy; Psychotherapeutic Processes
PubMed: 34231897
DOI: 10.1111/1468-5922.12676 -
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews May 2023Dreams are one of the most bizarre and least understood states of consciousness. Bridging the gap between brain and phenomenology of (un)conscious experience, we propose... (Review)
Review
Dreams are one of the most bizarre and least understood states of consciousness. Bridging the gap between brain and phenomenology of (un)conscious experience, we propose the Topographic-dynamic Re-organization model of Dreams (TRoD). Topographically, dreams are characterized by a shift towards increased activity and connectivity in the default-mode network (DMN) while they are reduced in the central executive network, including the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (except in lucid dreaming). This topographic re-organization is accompanied by dynamic changes; a shift towards slower frequencies and longer timescales. This puts dreams dynamically in an intermediate position between awake state and NREM 2/SWS sleep. TRoD proposes that the shift towards DMN and slower frequencies leads to an abnormal spatiotemporal framing of input processing including both internally- and externally-generated inputs (from body and environment). In dreams, a shift away from temporal segregation to temporal integration of inputs results in the often bizarre and highly self-centric mental contents as well as hallucinatory-like states. We conclude that topography and temporal dynamics are core features of the TroD, which may provide the connection of neural and mental activity, e.g., brain and experience during dreams as their "common currency".
Topics: Humans; Brain; Dreams; Consciousness; Wakefulness; Hallucinations
PubMed: 36870584
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105117 -
The Journal of Analytical Psychology Nov 2022The author, although an analyst, is an initiate into the topic of environmental destruction. Following Wendell Berry, she enters the dark and begins a journey of...
The author, although an analyst, is an initiate into the topic of environmental destruction. Following Wendell Berry, she enters the dark and begins a journey of dream-like reflection, weaving images from her own dream and drawing on the work of Vaughan, Bernstein, Soloveitchik and Sacks. She asks, 'not if but where does climate change enter the room?'. The second half of the paper focuses on the manifestations of environmental destruction in dreams and sandplay from three patients and one dream group participant. The paper argues that the analyst must see and intuit before our patients can access the objective layer of environmental destruction in dreams and symbolic material. In this way, the climate becomes the wounded patient, and the analyst as wounded healer must first access his/her own relationship to the wounds inside. Finally, using an ancient Jewish mythological story of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, the author argues that Jungian analysts must work to find balance between the inner world of depth psychology and the outer world with its challenges and problems that include environmental destruction.
Topics: Female; Humans; Male; Dreams
PubMed: 36440720
DOI: 10.1111/1468-5922.12868 -
BMC Psychiatry Apr 2023As nightmares may be a risk factor for, or symptom of, multiple psychological disorders, some researchers suggest that nightmares should be screened, diagnosed, and...
BACKGROUND
As nightmares may be a risk factor for, or symptom of, multiple psychological disorders, some researchers suggest that nightmares should be screened, diagnosed, and treated. Treatments for nightmares include trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Image Rehearsal Therapy, and pharmacological interventions such as prazosin and nitrazepam. As recent research has put into question our current understanding of treatment efficacy, there is a need to systematically review findings related to the effectiveness of nightmare treatments to inform best practice. The current review assessed the efficacy of psychosocial treatments of nightmare in all cohorts.
METHODS
A systematic search of four databases for peer reviewed journal articles from 2000 onwards produced 69 (35 RCTs, 34 non-RCTs) eligible articles that underwent narrative synthesis.
RESULTS
The results provide strong evidence for exposure and image rehearsal treatments for the reduction of nightmare frequency, severity, and distress, in civilian, military, idiopathic, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) cohorts. There is emerging evidence that self-guided and brief treatment modalities offer efficient and effective treatment options. There is an urgent need for clinical trials of treatment effectiveness in children.
CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest that treatments for nightmares are most effective when they facilitate a sense of control or mastery by directly targeting the nightmare content and/or the client's emotional responses to the nightmare content.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
A review protocol was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020204861).
Topics: Humans; Adult; Child; Dreams; Prazosin; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 37085821
DOI: 10.1186/s12888-023-04703-1 -
Behavioural Neurology 2016Objective. Violent dream content and its acting out during rapid eye movement sleep are considered distinctive for rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder (RBD)....
Objective. Violent dream content and its acting out during rapid eye movement sleep are considered distinctive for rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder (RBD). This study reports first quantitative data on dreaming in a cohort of patients with treated Wilson's disease (WD) and in patients with WD with RBD. Methods. Retrospective questionnaires on different dimensions of dreaming and a prospective two-week home dream diary with self-rating of emotions and blinded, categorical rating of content by an external judge. Results. WD patients showed a significantly lower dream word count and very few other differences in dream characteristics compared to age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Compared to WD patients without RBD, patients with WD and RBD reported significantly higher nightmare frequencies and more dreams with violent or aggressive content retrospectively; their prospectively collected dream reports contained significantly more negative emotions and aggression. Conclusions. The reduction in dream length might reflect specific cognitive deficits in WD. The lack of differences regarding dream content might be explained by the established successful WD treatment. RBD in WD had a strong impact on dreaming. In accordance with the current definition of RBD, violent, aggressive dream content seems to be a characteristic of RBD also in WD.
Topics: Adult; Brazil; Case-Control Studies; Cognition Disorders; Dreams; Emotions; Female; Hepatolenticular Degeneration; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Parkinson Disease; Polysomnography; Prospective Studies; REM Sleep Behavior Disorder; Retrospective Studies; Self Report; Sleep, REM; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 27051076
DOI: 10.1155/2016/2983205 -
Journal of Sleep Research Oct 2021COVID-19 has critically impacted the world. Recent works have found substantial changes in sleep and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dreams could give us...
COVID-19 has critically impacted the world. Recent works have found substantial changes in sleep and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dreams could give us crucial information about people's well-being, so here we have directly investigated the consequences of lockdown on the oneiric activity in a large Italian sample: 5,988 adults completed a web-survey during lockdown. We investigated sociodemographic and COVID-19-related information, sleep quality (by the Medical Outcomes Study-Sleep Scale), mental health (by the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales), dream and nightmare frequency, and related emotional aspects (by the Mannheim Dream Questionnaire). Comparisons between our sample and a population-based sample revealed that Italians are having more frequent nightmares and dreams during the pandemic. A multiple logistic regression model showed the predictors of high dream recall (young age, female gender, not having children, sleep duration) and high nightmare frequency (young age, female gender, modification of napping, sleep duration, intrasleep wakefulness, sleep problem index, anxiety, depression). Moreover, we found higher emotional features of dream activity in workers who have stopped working, in people who have relatives/friends infected by or who have died from COVID-19 and in subjects who have changed their sleep habits. Our findings point to the fact that the predictors of high dream recall and nightmares are consistent with the continuity between sleep mentation and daily experiences. According to the arousal-retrieval model, we found that poor sleep predicts a high nightmare frequency. We suggest monitoring dream changes during the epidemic, and also considering the implications for clinical treatment and prevention of mental and sleep disorders.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; COVID-19; Communicable Disease Control; Dreams; Female; Humans; Italy; Male; Middle Aged; Pandemics; Young Adult
PubMed: 33547703
DOI: 10.1111/jsr.13300