DREAM: A Dream EEG and Mentation database
William Wong, Kátia C. Andrade, Thomas Andrillon, Dráulio Barros de Araújo, Isabelle Arnulf, Giulia Avvenuti, Benjamin Baird, Michele Bellesi, Damiana Bergamo, Giulio Bernardi, Mark Blagrove, Megan Collins, Luigi de Gennaro, Nicolas Decat, Çağatay Demirel, Martin Dresler, Jean‐Baptiste Eichenlaub, Valentina Elce, Jarrod Gott, Rubén Herzog, Bjørn Erik Juel, Karen Konkoly, Joshua J. LaRocque, Célia Lacaux, Bigna Lenggenhager, Sérgio Mota‐rolim, Remington Mallett, Valdas Noreika, Delphine Oudiette, Fernanda Palhano-Fontes, Ken A. Paller, Lampros Perogamvros, Antti Revonsuo, Serena Scarpelli, André Sevenius Nilsen, Francesca Siclari, Pilleriin Sikka, Johan F. Storm, Katja Valli, Erin J. Wamsley, Jennifer Windt, Jing Zhang, Elaine van Rijn, Naotsugu Tsuchiya
May 16, 2023 preprint DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/69e43 via OpenAlex
Summary
A new open-access database, DREAM, combines sleep magneto/electroencephalography (M/EEG) recordings with standardized dream reports to enable large-scale neurocognitive research on dreaming. The initial release includes 20 datasets from 561 participants and 2649 awakenings, each with at least 20 seconds of high-frequency M/EEG data and a classification of the subject's experience. Analyses demonstrate that features extracted from EEG can predict whether a person reports having had a conscious experience during both REM and NREM sleep. The database aims to overcome the limitations of small sample sizes and methodological variability in dream research, allowing new questions to be addressed at a scale unattainable by individual labs.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Database description with demonstration analyses |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 561 |
| Population | Human participants in sleep M/EEG studies with dream reports |
| Keywords | Dream Electroencephalography Neurocognitive Sleep system call Consciousness |
| Citations | 21 |
| Key finding | Features extracted from EEG recordings can predict reports of conscious experiences during both REM and NREM sleep. |
Abstract
Magneto/electroencephalography (M/EEG) studies of dreaming are an essential paradigm in the investigation of neurocognitive processes of human consciousness during sleep, but they are limited by the number of observations that can be collected per study. Dream research also involves substantial methodological and conceptual variability, which poses problems for the integration of results. To address these issues, here we present the DREAM database—an expanding collection of standardized datasets on human sleep M/EEG combined with dream report data—with an initial release comprising 20 datasets, 561 participants, and 2649 awakenings. Each awakening consists, at minimum, of sleep M/EEG(≥20 s, ≥100 Hz, ≥2 electrodes) up to the time of waking and a standardized dream report classification of the subject’s experience during sleep. We also provide several examples of analyses, showcasing the database’s high potential in paving the way for new research questions at a scale that any single research group cannot achieve. We notably show that reports of conscious experiences can be predicted with objective features extracted from EEG recordings in both Rapid Eye Movement (REM) and non-REM (NREM) sleep. We finally will provide useful criteria for methodological choices in future dream laboratory research and the expansion of this database.