A dream EEG and mentation database.
William Wong, Rubén Herzog, Kátia Cristine Andrade, Thomas Andrillon, Draulio Barros de Araujo, Isabelle Arnulf, Somayeh Ataei, Giulia Avvenuti, Benjamin Baird, Michele Bellesi, Damiana Bergamo, Giulio Bernardi, Mark Blagrove, Nicolas Decat, Çağatay Demirel, Martin Dresler, Jean-Baptiste Eichenlaub, Valentina Elce, Steffen Gais, Luigi De Gennaro, Jarrod Gott, Chihiro Hiramatsu, Bjørn Erik Juel, Karen R Konkoly, Deniz Kumral, Célia Lacaux, Joshua J Larocque, Bigna Lenggenhager, Remington Mallett, Sérgio Arthuro Mota-Rolim, Yuki Motomura, André Sevenius Nilsen, Valdas Noreika, Delphine Oudiette, Fernanda Palhano-Fontes, Jessica Palmieri, Ken A Paller, Lampros Perogamvros, Antti Revonsuo, Elaine Van Rijn, Serena Scarpelli, Monika Schönauer, Sarah F Schoch, Francesca Siclari, Pilleriin Sikka, Johan Frederik Storm, Hiroshige Takeichi, Katja Valli, Erin J Wamsley, Jennifer M Windt, Jing Zhang, Jialin Zhao, Naotsugu Tsuchiya
Nature communications August 13, 2025 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-61945-1 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractA 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.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Database description with illustrative analyses Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 505 |
| Population | Human participants providing sleep M/EEG and dream reports |
| Citations | 10 |
| Key finding | Reports of conscious experiences during sleep can be predicted from objective EEG features in 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, 505 participants, and 2643 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 observed 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 also provide several examples of analyses, showcasing the database's high potential in paving the way for new research questions at a scale beyond the capacity of any single research group.