Bridging dream and wake states: a new tool for consciousness research.
Neuroscience of consciousness January 1, 2026 Zeynep Temel Başer, Gülsüm Uzer, Hansa Şentürk et al.
A new self-report questionnaire, the Consciousness States Comparison Scale: REM Version (CSCS-REM), was developed to measure how dream consciousness during REM sleep differs from waking consciousness. The final 35-item scale, derived from data from 432 participants, captures eight dimensions: Metacognitive Awareness, Cognitive Fluency, Memory, Temporal Awareness, Spatial Awareness, Emotional Awareness, Perceptual and Bodily Senses, and Interoceptive and Chemical Senses. The scale accounted for 56.04% of the variance, with reliability coefficients ranging from .639 to .915. Confirmatory factor analysis in a separate sample of 211 participants showed excellent model fit. The CSCS-REM enables systematic testing of continuity and discontinuity hypotheses in consciousness research.