Nature communications
August 13, 2025
William Wong, Rubén Herzog, Kátia Cristine Andrade et al.
10 citations
A new open database, the DREAM database, combines standardized sleep magneto/electroencephalography (M/EEG) recordings with dream reports from 505 participants across 20 datasets, totaling 2,643 awakenings. Each awakening includes at least 20 seconds of high-resolution sleep EEG (≥100 Hz, ≥2 electrodes) and a classification of the sleeper's reported experience. Analyses showed that reports of conscious experiences during sleep can be predicted from objective EEG features in both REM and NREM sleep. The database aims to overcome limitations of small sample sizes and methodological variability in dream research, enabling larger-scale investigations of the neurocognitive basis of dreaming.
Journal of sleep research
April 1, 2025
Jean-Baptiste Eichenlaub, Romain Bouet, Mathieu Pinelli et al.
3 citations
Among 1,151 preteens aged about 11, nearly half recalled dreams several times a week or almost every morning. About 52% had nightmares less than once a month or never, and 45% had lucid dreams at the same low frequency. No gender differences appeared in dream habits. Nocturnal awakenings were linked to all dream variables (recall, nightmares, lucid dreams, emotional intensity). Shorter sleep duration and lower sleep efficiency were associated with more frequent nightmares and stronger dream emotions, but not with dream recall or lucid dream frequency; Bayesian analyses supported these null findings.
Consciousness and cognition
January 1, 2026
Guillaume Pepin, Hélène Lœvenbruck, Alan Chauvin et al.
Hallucinations and involuntary mental imagery share many features but differ in key ways. In a survey of 1,951 French-speaking adults, involuntary mental imagery occurred more often than hallucinations and was rated as more vivid, emotionally positive, and self-generated. Hallucinations, by contrast, caused greater distress and were perceived as coming from outside the self. Moderate to strong correlations between the two on most dimensions support the idea of a shared experiential continuum, though differences in agency and controllability challenge existing cognitive models of self-monitoring. Refining these distinctions may improve early detection and prevention of distressing internal experiences.