Dream reports collected after rapid eye movement (REM) sleep are typically longer, more vivid, and more story-like than those from non-REM sleep, but traditional measures may be confounded by report length. By analyzing 133 dream reports from 20 participants as non-semantic directed word graphs, researchers found that REM dream reports have greater connectedness—words recur with longer range—compared to N2 sleep reports. Graph measures predicted dream complexity, with higher connectedness and lower randomness linked to more complex reports. The largest connected component improved models using report length alone for predicting sleep stage and complexity. Graph analysis offers an automated method to complement traditional dream report analysis.
Psychedelics may help treat mental health conditions by changing how people think about themselves, but the context in which they are taken plays a crucial role. A commentary on Chris Letheby's 'Philosophy of Psychedelics' argues that a person's mindset and physical surroundings during a psychedelic experience shape which new self-conceptions they discover. This aligns with the REBUS model, where relaxing strong prior beliefs makes the brain more sensitive to incoming sensory information. A supportive environment and positive state of mind make beneficial changes in self-understanding and long-term well-being more likely. This view largely agrees with Letheby but questions his idea that psychedelics create a 'level cognitive playing field' where all self-related hypotheses are equally probable.