Does electric brain activity (EEG) predict the presence of dream recall?

Journal title RIVISTA SPERIMENTALE DI FRENIATRIA
Author/s Chiara Bartolacci, Serena Scarpelli, Luigi De Gennaro
Publishing Year 2017 Issue 2017/2
Language Italian Pages 21 P. 79-99 File size 1816 KB
DOI 10.3280/RSF2017-002005
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

Empirical observations of dream characteristics reveal very different contents, both from a qualitative and a quantitative point of view. For a few decades, the scientific study of dreams attributed this variability to the specific action exercised by the two phases of rapid-eye-movement sleep (REM) and non-rapid-eye-movement sleep (NREM). Thereafter, a number of research studies re-examine the REM/NREM dichotomy in dreaming. Lesion studies, among others, using neuroimaging techniques and polysomnographic (PSG) methods start to illustrate which brain areas are more involved in generating dreams. Some of these brain areas seem also to be involved in the elaboration of cognitive activities during wakefulness (using an isomorphic approach). Moreover, further studies underline the correlation existing between dream recall and higher cortical activation during sleep. Nowadays, one of the main aims of research is to clarify whether the presence of dream memories can be predicted by specific oscillatory EEG activities, or derives from trait-like factors which determine inter-individual differences in the ability to recall dreams on awakening. The present review illustrates in what way the dichotomous paradigm on the generation of dreams evolved over time and describes the steps taken to tackle this issue. The authors examine the studies that offer an innovative contribution - to the research on dreams - and formulate the current theoretical hypotheses, considering also, eventually, the auspicious prospect of moving towards a unified theory of dreaming.

Keywords: Dream recall, dreaming, activation, state-like hypothesis, trait-like hypothesis, sleep.

  1. De Gennaro L, Cipolli C, Cherubini A, Assogna F, Cacciari C, Marzano C, et al. Amygdala and hippocampus volumetry and diffusivity in relation to dreaming. Human Brain Mapping 2011, 32: 1458–70.
  2. De Gennaro L, Marzano C, Cipolli C, Ferrara M. How we remember the stuff that dreams are made of: neurobiological approaches to the brain mechanisms of dream recall. Behavioural Brain Research 2012, 226: 592–6.
  3. Hobson JA, Pace-Schott EF, Stickgold R. Dreaming and the brain: toward a cognitive neuroscience of conscious states. Behavioral and Brain Science 2000, 23:793–842. DOI: 10.1017/S0140525X00003976
  4. Schwartz S, Maquet P. Sleep imaging and the neuropsychological assessment of dreams. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 2002, 6: 23–30. DOI: 10.1016/S1364-6613(00)01818-0
  5. Antrobus J. REM and NREM sleep reports: comparison of word frequencies by cognitive classes. Psychophysiology 1983, 20:562–68.
  6. Antrobus JS, Hartwig P, Rosa D, Reinsel, R, Fein G,. Brightness and clarity of REM and NREM imagery: Photo response scale. Sleep Research 1987, 16: 240.
  7. Casagrande M, Violani C, Bertini M. A psycholinguistic method for analyzing two modalities of thought in dream reports. Dreaming 1996, 6: 43–55.
  8. Cavallero C, Cicogna P, Natale V, Occhionero M, Zito A. Slow wave sleep dreaming: dream research. Sleep 1992, 15: 562–66.
  9. Foulkes D. Dream reports from different stages of sleep. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psycholy 1962, 65: 14–25.
  10. Foulkes D. Non rapid eye movement mentation. Experimental Neurology 1967, 19, 28–38. DOI: 10.1016/0014-4886(67)90154-9
  11. Foulkes D, Rechtschaffen A. Presleep determinants of dream content: effects of two films. Perceptual and Motor Skills 1964, 19: 983–1005.
  12. Foulkes D, Schmidt M. Temporal sequence and unit composition in dream reports from different stages of sleep. Sleep 1983, 6: 265–80.
  13. Herman JH, Ellman SJ, Roffwarg HP. The problem of NREM recall reexamined. In: Arkin AM, Antrobus JS, Ellman SJ, ed. The mind in sleep. Hillsdale:Erlbaum, 1978. p 59-92.
  14. Hobson JA. Dreaming as delirium: A mental status analysis of our nightly madness. Seminars in Neurology 1997, 17:121–8.
  15. LaBerge SP. Lucid dreaming: Psychophysiological studies of consciousness during REM sleep. In: Bootzin RR, Kihlstrom JF, Schacter DL, ed. Sleep and cognition. Washington:American Psychological Association, 1990. p 109-26.
  16. LaBerge SP. Physiological studies of lucid dreaming. In: Antrobus J, Bertini M, ed. The neuropsychology of dreaming sleep. Hillsdale:Erlbaum, 1992. P 289-303.
  17. McCarley RW, Hoffman E. REM sleep dreams and the activation synthesis hypothesis. The American Journal of Psychiatry 1981, 138:904–12.
  18. Monroe LJ, Rechtschaffen A, Foulkes D, Jensen J. Discriminability of REM and NREM reports. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1965, 2:456–60.
  19. Nielsen T, Mentation during sleep: the NREM/REM distinction. In: Lydic R, Baghdoyan HA, ed. Handbook of behavioral state control: cellular and molecular mechanisms. Boca Raton, Fla:CRC, 1999. p 101–128.
  20. Pivik T, Foulkes D. NREM mentation: relation to personality, orientation time, and time of night. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 1968, 32: 144–51.
  21. Rechtschaffen A, Verdone P, Wheaton J. Reports of mental activity during sleep. Canadian Psychiatric Association Journal 1963, 257: 409–14.
  22. Reinsel R, Antrobus JS, Wollman M. Bizarreness in dreams and waking fantasy. In: Antrobus JS, Bertini M, ed. The neuropsychology of sleep and dreaming. Hillsdale:Erlbaum, 1992. p 157-184.
  23. Revonsuo A, Salmivalli C. A content analysis of bizarre elements in dreams. Dreaming 1995, 5(3):169-187.
  24. Stickgold R,Pace-Schott EF, Hobson JA. A new paradigm for dream research: mentation reports following spontaneous arousal from REM and NREM sleep recorded in a home setting. Consciousness and Cognition 1994, 3: 16–29.
  25. Waterman D, Elton M, Kenemans JL. Methodological issues affecting the collection of dreams. Journal of Sleep Research 1993, 2:8–12.
  26. Williams JA, Merritt J, Rittenhouse C, Hobson JA. Bizarreness in dreams and fantasies: Implications for the activation-synthesis hypothesis. Consciousness and Cognition 1992, 1: 172–85.
  27. Dement W, Kleitman N. The relation of eye movements during sleep to dream activity: an objective method for the study of dreaming. Journal of Experimental Psychology 1957, 53:339–46.
  28. Aserinsky E, Kleitman N. Regularly occurring periods of eye motility, and concomitant phenomena, during sleep. Science 1953, 118: 273–4.
  29. Horne J, Perché dormiamo. Le funzioni del sonno negli esseri umani e negli altri mammiferi. Canestrari R, Cipolli C, ed. Roma: Armando, 1993. p 10-16, 12-18, 303-11.
  30. Siclari F, Baird B, Perogamvros L, Bernardi G, LaRocque JJ, Riedner B, et al. The neural correlate s of dreaming. Nature Neuroscience 2017, 1-10.
  31. Solms M. The neuropsychology of dreams: A clinico-anatomical study. Hillsdale:Erlbaum, 1997.
  32. De Gennaro L, Lanteri O, Piras F, Scarpelli S, Assogna F, Ferrara M, Caltagirone C, Spalletta G. Dopaminergic system and dream recall: an MRI study in Parkinson’s disease patients. Human Brain Mapping 2016, 37: 1136-47.
  33. Chellappa SL, Münch M, Blatter K, Knoblauch V, Cajochen C. Does the circadian modulation modify with age?. Sleep 2009, 32: 1201–9.
  34. Chellappa SL, Frey S, Knoblauch V, Cajochen C. Cortical activation patterns herald successful dream recall after NREM and REM sleep. Biological Psychology 2011, 87: 251–6.
  35. Corsi-Cabrera M, Miro E, del-Río-Portilla Y, Perez-Garci E, Villanueva Y, Guevara MA. Rapid eye movement sleep dreaming is characterized by uncoupled EEG activity between frontal and perceptual cortical regions. Brain and Cognition 2003, 51:337–45. DOI: 10.1016/S0278-2626(03)00037-X
  36. Esposito MJ, Nielsen TA, Paquette T. Reduced alpha power associated with the recall of mentation from Stage 2 and Stage REM sleep. Psychophysiology 2004, 41: 288–97.
  37. Marzano C, Ferrara M, Mauro F, Moroni F, Gorgoni M, Tempesta D, et al. Recalling and forgetting dreams: theta and alpha oscillations during sleep predict subsequent dream recall. Journal of Neuroscience 2011, 31: 6674–83. DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0412-11.2011
  38. Scarpelli S, Marzano C, D’Atri A, Gorgoni M, Ferrara M, De Gennaro L: State-or trait-like individual differences in dream recall: preliminary findings from a within-subjects study of multiple nap REM sleep awakenings. Frontiers in Psychology 2015b, 6: 928.
  39. Scarpelli S, D’Atri A, Mangiaruga A, Marzano C, Gorgoni M, Schiappa C, et al. Predicting dream recall: EEG activation during NREM sleep or shared mechanism with wakefulness?. Brain Topography, Forthcoming 2017.
  40. Takeuchi T, Ogilvie RD, Murphy TI, Ferrelli AV. EEG activities during elicited sleep onset REM and NREM periods reflect different mechanisms of dream generation. Clinical Neurophysiology 2003, 114: 210–20. DOI: 10.1016/S1388-2457(02)00385-1
  41. Siclari F, LaRocque JJ, Bernardi G, Postle BR, Tononi G. The neural correlates of consciousness in sleep: a no-task, within-state paradigm. bioRxiv 2014, 4: 542. DOI: 10.1101/012443
  42. Maquet P, Péters JM, Aerts J, Delfiore G, Degueldre C, Luxen A, et al. Functional neuroanatomy of human rapid eye movement sleep and dreaming. Nature 1996, 383: 163–6.
  43. Maquet P. Functional neuroimaging of normal human sleep by positron emission tomography. Journal of Sleep Research 2000, 9:207–31.
  44. Braun AR, Balkin TJ, Wesensten NJ, Carson RE, Varga M, Baldwin P, et al. Regional cerebral blood flow throughout the sleep-wake cycle: an H2O-15 positron emission tomography study. Brain 1997, 120:1173–97.
  45. Nofzinger EA, Mintun MA, Wiseman M, Kupfer DJ, Moore RY. Forebrain activation in REM sleep: an FDG PET study. Brain Research 1997, 770: 192–201. DOI: 10.1016/S0006-8993(97)00807-X
  46. Scarpelli S, D’Atri A, Gorgoni M, Ferrara M, De Gennaro L. EEG oscillations during sleep and dream recall: state- or trait-like individual differences?. Frontiers in Psychology, 2015a, 6: 605.
  47. Sastre JP, Jouvet M. Le comportement onirique du chat. Physiology & Behavior 1979, 22: 979-89.
  48. Hobson JA, McCarley RW. The brain as a dream state generator: an activationsynthesis hypothesis of the dream process. American Journal of Psychiatry 1977, 134: 1335–48.
  49. Hobson JA. The dreaming brain: How the brain creates both the sense and the nonsense of dreams. New York: Basic Books, 1988.
  50. Antrobus J. How does the dreaming brain explain the dreaming mind?. Behavioral and Brain Science 2000, 23: 904-7.
  51. Nielsen T. A review of mentation in REM and NREM sleep: covertREM sleep as a possible reconciliation of two opposing models. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 2000, 23: 851–66. DOI: 10.1017/S0140525X0000399X
  52. Nielsen T. Microdream neurophenomenology. Neurosciences of Counsciousness 2017, 1-17.
  53. Fisher C, Byrne JV, Edwards A, Kahn E. A psychophysiological study of nightmares. Journal of the American Psychoanalitic Association 1970a, 18: 747-82.
  54. Fisher C, Byrne JV, Edwards A, Kahn E. REM and NREM nightmares. International Psychiatry Clinics 1970b, 7: 183-7.
  55. Fisher C, Kahan E, Edwards A e Davis DM. A psychophysiological study of nightmares and night terrors: I. Physiological aspects of the Stage 4 night terror. Journal of Nervous and Mental Desease 1973, 157: 75-98.
  56. Kahn E, Fisher C, Edwards A. Night terrors and anxiety dreams. In: Ellman SJ, Antrobus JS, ed. The mind in sleep: Psychology and psychophysiology. Wiley, 1991.
  57. Solms M. Dreaming and REM sleep are controlled by different brain mechanisms. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 2000, 2: 843–50. DOI: 10.1017/S0140525X00003988
  58. Domhoff GW. The neural substrate for dreaming: is it a subsystem of the default network?. Consciousness and Cognition 2011, 20:1163–74.
  59. Kosslyn SM, Alpert NM, Thompson WL, Chabris CF, Rauch SL, Anderson AK. Identifying objects seen from different viewpoints. A PET investigation. Brain 1994, 117: 1055-71.
  60. Rhawn J. Cingulate Girus. Neuropsychiatry, Neuropsychology, Clinical Neuroscience, 3rd ed. New York:Academic Press, 2000.
  61. Von Stein A, Rappelsberger P, Sarnthein J, Petsche H. Synchronization Between Temporal and Parietal Cortex During Multimodal Object Processing in Man. Cerebral Cortex 1999, 9(2): 137-50.
  62. Eichenlaub JB, Nicolas A, Daltrozzo J, Redouté J, Costes N, Ruby P. Resting brain activity varies with dream recall frequency between subjects. Neuropsychopharmacology 2014a, 39:1594–602.
  63. Partridge M. Pre-frontal leucotomy: a survey of 300 cases personally followed for 1–3 years. Oxford:Blackwell, 1950.
  64. Desseilles M, Dang-Vu TT, Sterpenich V, Schwartz S. Cognitive and emotional processes during dreaming: a neuroimaging view. Consciousness and Cognition 2011, 20:998–1008.
  65. Smallwood J, Schooler J. The restless mind. Psychological Bulletin 2006, 132:946–58. DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.132.6.946
  66. Gottesmann C. The neurochemistry of waking and sleeping mental activity: the disinhibition-dopamine hypothesis. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences 2002, 56: 345–54.
  67. Braun AR, Balkin TJ, Wesensten NJ, Gwadry F, Carson RE, Varga M, et al. Dissociated pattern of activity in visual cortices and their projections during human rapid eye movement sleep. Science 1998, 279: 91–5.
  68. Nir Y and Tononi G. Dreaming and the brain: from phenomenology to neurophysiology. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 2010, 14:88–100.
  69. Maquet P, Ruby P, Maudoux A, Albouy G, Sterpenich V, DangVu T, et al. Human cognition during REM sleep and the activity profile within frontal and parietal cortices: a reappraisal of functional neuroimaging data. Progress in Brain Research 2005, 150: 219–27. DOI: 10.1016/S0079-6123(05)50016-5
  70. Wehrle R, Kaufmann C, Wetter TC, Holsboer F, Auer DP, Pollmächer T, et al. Functional microstates within human REM sleep: first evidence from fMRI of a thalamocortical network specific for phasic REM periods. European Journal of Neuroscience 2007, 25: 863–71.
  71. Fosse MJ, Fosse R, Hobson JA, Stickgold RJ. Dreaming and episodic memory: a functional dissociation?. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience 2003, 15: 1–9 DOI: 10.1162/089892903321107774
  72. Hobson JA, Pace-Schott EF. The cognitive neuroscience of sleep: neuronal system, consciousness and learning. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 2002, 3(9): 679-693.
  73. Patton MH, Bizup BT, Grace AA. The Infralimbic Cortex Bidirectionally Modulates Mesolimbic Dopamine Neuron Activity via Distinct Neural Pathways. The Journal of Neuroscience 2013, 33(43): 16865-73, DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2449-13.2013
  74. Perogamvros L, Schwartz S. The roles of the reward system in sleep and dreaming. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 2012, 36: 1934–51.
  75. Maquet P, Phillips C. Functional brain imaging of human sleep. Journal of Sleep Research 1998, 7:42-7.
  76. Klimesch W. EEG alpha and theta oscillations reflect cognitive and memory performance: a review and analysis. Brain Research Reviews 1999, 29: 169–95. DOI: 10.1016/S0165-0173(98)00056-3
  77. Molle M, Marshall L, Fehm HL, Born J. EEG theta synchronization conjoined with alpha desynchronization indicate intentional encoding. European Journal of Neuroscience 2002, 15: 923–8.
  78. Sederberg PB, Kahana MJ, Howard MW, Donner EJ and Madsen JR. Theta and gamma oscillations during encoding predict subsequent recall. Journal of Neuroscience 2003, 23: 10809–14.
  79. Tulving E. Episodic memory: from mind to brain. Annual Review of Psychology 2002, 53: 1–25.
  80. Rutishauser U, Ross IB, Mamelak AN, Schuman EM. Human memory strength is predicted by theta-frequency phase-locking of single neurons. Nature 2010, 464: 903–7.
  81. Klimesch W. Memory processes, brain oscillations and EEG synchronization. International Journal of Psychophysiology 1996, 24: 61–100. DOI: 10.1016/S0167-8760(96)00057-8
  82. Cantero JL, Atienza M, Stickgold R, Kahana MJ, Madsen JR, Kocsis B. Sleepdependent θ oscillations in the human hippocampus and neocortex. Journal of Neurosciences 2003, 23: 10897–903.
  83. Klimesch W, Doppelmayr M, Russegger H, Pachinger T. Theta band power in the human scalp EEG and the encoding of new information. Neuroreport 1996, 7: 1235-40.
  84. Mitchell DJ, McNaughton N, Flanagan D, Kirk IJ. Frontal-midline theta from the perspective of hippocampal “theta”. Progress in Neurobiology 2008, 86: 156–85.
  85. Anderson KL, Rajagovindan R, Ghacibeh GA, Meador KJ, Ding M. Theta oscillations mediate interaction between prefrontal cortex and medial temporal lobe in human memory. Cerebral Cortex 2010, 20: 1604–12.
  86. Hanslmayr S, Staudigl T, Aslan A, Bäuml K-H. Theta oscillations predict the detrimental effects of memory retrieval. Cognitive, Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience 2010, 10: 329–38. DOI: 10.3758/CABN.10.3.329
  87. Staudigl T, Hanslmayr S, Bäuml KHT. Theta oscillations reflect the dynamics of interference in episodic memory retrieval. Journal of Neuroscience 2010, 30: 11356–62. DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0637-10.2010
  88. Khader PH, Rösler F. EEG power changes reflect distinct mechanisms during long-term memory retrieval. Psychophysiology 2011, 48: 362–9.
  89. Lega BC, Jacobs J, Kahana M. Human hippocampal theta oscillations and the formation of episodic memories. Hippocampus 2012, 22: 748–61.
  90. Pastötter B, Bäuml KHT. Distincts low and fast cortical theta dynamics in episodic memory retrieval. Neuroimage 2014, 94: 155–61.
  91. Fell J, Staedtgen M, Burr W, Kockelmann E, Helmstaedter C, Schaller C, et al. Rhinal-hippocampal EEG coherence is reduced during human sleep. European Journal of Neuroscience 2003, 18: 1711–6.
  92. Zimmerman WB. Sleep mentation and auditory awakening thresholds. Psychophysiology 1970, 6: 540–9.
  93. Koulack D, Goodenough DR. Dream recall and dream recall failure: an arousalretrieval model. Psychological Bulletin 1976, 83: 975. DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.83.5.975
  94. Antrobus JS. Dreaming: cognitive processes during cortical activation and high afferent thresholds. Psychological Review 1991, 98: 96–121. DOI: 10.1037/0033-295X.94.3.359
  95. Rosenblatt SI, Antrobus JI, Zimler JP. The effect of post-awakening differences in activation on the REM–NREM report effect and recall of information from films. In: Antrobus JS, Bertini M, ed. The neuropsychology of sleep and dreaming. Hillsdale:Erlbaum, 1992.
  96. Voss U, Holzmann R, Hobson A, Paulus W, Koppehele-Gossel J, Klimke A, Nitsche MA. Induction of self-awareness in dreams through frontal low current stimulation of gamma activity. Nature Neuroscience 2014, 17: 810-2.
  97. De Gennaro L, Marzano C, Moroni F, Curcio G, Ferrara M, Cipolli C. Recovery sleep after sleep deprivation almost completely abolishes dream recall. Behavioural Brain Research 2010, 206:293-8
  98. Schredl M, Schäfer G, Weber B, Heuser I. Dreaming and insomnia: dream recall and dream content of patients with insomnia. Journal of Sleep Research 1998, 7: 191-8.
  99. Eichenlaub JB, Bertrand O, Morlet D, Ruby P. Brain reactivity differentiates subjects with high and low dream recall frequencies during both sleep and wakefulness. Cerebral Cortex 2014b, 24: 1206–15.
  100. Ruby P, Blochet C, Eichenlaub JB, Bertrand O, Morlet D, Bidet-Caulet A. Alpha reactivity to first names differs in subjects with high and low dream recall frequency. Frontiers in Psychology 2013, 4: 419.
  101. Bernardi G, Siclari F, Yu X, Zennig C, Bellesi M, Ricciardi E, et al.,. Neural and behavioral correlates of extended training during sleep deprivation in humans: evidence for local, task-specific effects. Journal of Neuroscience 2015, 35: 4487-500. DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4567-14.2015
  102. Quercia A, Zappasodi F, Committeri G, Tamburro G, Pizzella V, Valentini M, et al. Neurobehavioral performance during an intensive spatial navigation task and local use-dependent changes in the wake electroencephalogram. Conference Paper: 22th Congress of the European Sleep Research Society, 2014.
  103. Vyazovskiy VV, Olcese U, Hanlon EC, Nir Y, Cirelli C, Tononi G. Local sleep in awake rats. Nature 2011, 472: 443-7.
  104. Funk CM, Honjoh S, Rodriguez AV, Cirelli C, Tononi G. Local slow waves in superficial layers of primary cortical areas during REM sleep. Current Biology 2016, 26: 396–403.
  105. Nir, Y, Staba RJ, Andrillon T, Vyazovskiy VV, Cirelli C, Fried I, et al. Regional slow waves and spindles in human sleep. Neuron 2011, 70: 153–69.
  106. Pigorini A, Sarasso S, Proserpio P, Szymanski C, Arnulfo G, Casarotto S, et al. Bistability breaks-off deterministic responses to intracortical stimulation during non-REM sleep. Neuroimage 2015, 112: 105-13.
  107. Tononi G, Massimini M. Why does consciousness fade in early sleep?. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 2008, 1129: 330–4.
  108. Purdon PL, Pierce ET, Mukamel EA, Prerau MJ, Walsh JL, Wong KFK, et al. Electroencephalogram signatures of loss and recovery of consciousness from propofol. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 2013, 110: E1142–51.
  109. Nielsen T. Chronobiological features of dream production. Sleep Medicine Reviews 2004, 8: 403–24.
  110. Nielsen T. Variations in dream recall frequency and dream theme diversity by age and sex. Frontiers in Neurology 2012, 3: 106.
  111. St-Laurent M, Abdi H, Burianova H, Grady CL. Influence of aging on the neural correlates of autobiographical, episodic, and semantic memory retrieval. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience 2011, 23: 4150–63

Chiara Bartolacci, Serena Scarpelli, Luigi De Gennaro, L’attività elettrica cerebrale (EEG) predice la presenza del ricordo dei sogni? in "RIVISTA SPERIMENTALE DI FRENIATRIA" 2/2017, pp 79-99, DOI: 10.3280/RSF2017-002005