The neural correlates of dreaming. Nat Neurosci 2017 Jun;20(6):872-878
Date
04/11/2017Pubmed ID
28394322Pubmed Central ID
PMC5462120DOI
10.1038/nn.4545Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85017261455 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 437 CitationsAbstract
Consciousness never fades during waking. However, when awakened from sleep, we sometimes recall dreams and sometimes recall no experiences. Traditionally, dreaming has been identified with rapid eye-movement (REM) sleep, characterized by wake-like, globally 'activated', high-frequency electroencephalographic activity. However, dreaming also occurs in non-REM (NREM) sleep, characterized by prominent low-frequency activity. This challenges our understanding of the neural correlates of conscious experiences in sleep. Using high-density electroencephalography, we contrasted the presence and absence of dreaming in NREM and REM sleep. In both NREM and REM sleep, reports of dream experience were associated with local decreases in low-frequency activity in posterior cortical regions. High-frequency activity in these regions correlated with specific dream contents. Monitoring this posterior 'hot zone' in real time predicted whether an individual reported dreaming or the absence of dream experiences during NREM sleep, suggesting that it may constitute a core correlate of conscious experiences in sleep.
Author List
Siclari F, Baird B, Perogamvros L, Bernardi G, LaRocque JJ, Riedner B, Boly M, Postle BR, Tononi GAuthor
Joshua J. Larocque MD Assistant Professor in the Neurology department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdultAged
Cerebral Cortex
Dreams
Electroencephalography
Female
Humans
Male
Mental Recall
Middle Aged
Polysomnography
Sleep Stages
Young Adult
