A systematic review of new empirical data on lucid dream induction techniques

Tan, Shuyue; Fan, Jialin

doi:10.1111/jsr.13786

Cited by 19 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…We undertook a methodological assessment of the included articles to further analyse their empirical validity and bias risk. We considered utilising the Downs and Black (1998) checklist, which was created to assess the methodological quality of both randomised and nonrandomized comparative studies and has already been used in lucid dream research (Stumbrys et al, 2012;Tan & Fan, 2022). However, some of the checklist criteria appeared unsuitable for rating dream studies.…”

Section: Methodological Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We thus excluded articles that solely reported on the effects of sensory stimulation on lucid dream induction or content, as well as those that pooled lucid and non-lucid dreaming data. It is worth noting that lucid dreaming has been the subject of two complementary systematic studies (Stumbrys et al, 2012;Tan & Fan, 2022), which we suggest interested readers consult.…”

Section: Final Selection Criteriamentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Influencing dreams through sensory stimulation: a systematic review

Salvesen¹,

Capriglia²,

Dresler³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Sleep is commonly regarded as a state of disconnection from the environment. Yet, instances of external sensory stimuli affecting the course of dreams have been reported for centuries. Importantly, understanding the impact of external stimuli on dreams could shed light on the origin and generation of dreams, the functional mechanisms that preserve sleep continuity, and the processes that underlie conscious awareness. Moreover, the possibility of using sensory stimuli for dream engineering could potentially benefit patients suffering from alterations in the intensity or content of sleep conscious experiences. Here, we performed a systematic review following PRISMA guidelines to evaluate the robustness of the current evidence regarding the influence of external sensory stimulation during sleep on dreams experiences. In a literature search using PsycNET, PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Scopus, we selected any experimental work presenting dream data obtained from a confirmed sleep episode during which visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, or somatosensory stimulation was administered. A methodological assessment of the included studies was performed using an adapted version of the Downs and Black’s (1998) checklist. Fifty-one publications met the inclusion criteria, of which 21 reported data related to auditory stimulation, 10 to somatosensory stimulation, 8 to olfactory stimulation, 4 to visual stimulation, 2 to vestibular stimulation, and 1 to multi-modal stimulation (audio-visual). Furthermore, 8 references involved pre-conditioned associative stimulation procedures: 6 relied on targeted memory reactivation protocols and 3 on targeted lucid reactivation protocols. The reported frequency of stimulus-dependent dream changes across studies ranged from 0% to ~90%. Such a variability likely reflects the considerable heterogeneity of experimental and methodological approaches. Overall, the literature analysis identified a lack of substantial understanding of the key mechanisms, functions, and correlates of stimulus-dependent dream changes. We believe that a paradigm shift is required for meaningful and significant advancement in the field. We hope that this review will serve as a starting point for such a shift.

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Section: Methodological Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Final Selection Criteriamentioning

confidence: 99%

Influencing dreams through sensory stimulation: a systematic review

Salvesen¹,

Capriglia²,

Dresler³

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Gott et al ( 2020) noted a link between Wake-REM sequences and therefore REM sleep instability. In fact, several lucid dream induction techniques can be viewed as experimental REM sleep disturbance or fragmentation (Tan & Fan, 2023). In insomnia, sleep instability can therefore capture effects of hyperarousal (Riemann et al, 2010) in addition to reduced sleep duration reflected by reduced sleep efficiency or increased wake after sleep onset (WASO).…”

Section: It Is An Ongoing Question What Determines the Subjective Sle...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Gott et al (2020) noted a link between Wake–REM sequences and therefore REM sleep instability. In fact, several lucid dream induction techniques can be viewed as experimental REM sleep disturbance or fragmentation (Tan & Fan, 2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insomnia and REM sleep instability

Feige,

Benz,

Dressle

et al. 2023

Journal of Sleep Research

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SummaryIn this narrative review, we give an overview of the concept of rapid eye movement sleep instability and its reported implications in the context of insomnia. The term rapid eye movement sleep instability was coined to describe the observation of a modified rapid eye movement quality in insomnia, characterized by an increased tendency of perceiving rapid eye movement sleep as wake, a small but consistent rapid eye movement sleep reduction and an increased rapid eye movement sleep arousal index. Current research highlights relationships that are transdiagnostic in nature, corresponding to the known interaction of insomnia with many psychiatric disorders, and showing relationships to chronic stress and anxiety disorders.

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“…LD is a learnable skill (23, 24), however still cannot be reliably induced (25), leading to very small sample sizes in most studies. The rarity of LD (26, 27) and thus lack of statistical power in the typical small sample studies may be overcome by aggregating data from multiple studies or recording sites, which however requires considerable effort in harmonization of datasets.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electrophysiological correlates of lucid dreaming

Demirel,

Gott,

Appel

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Lucid dreaming (LD) is a state of conscious awareness of the current dream state, predominantly associated with REM sleep. Research progress in uncovering the neurobiological basis of LD has been hindered by low sample sizes, diverse EEG setups, and specific artifact issues like saccadic eye movements and signal non-stationarity. To address these matters, we developed a multi-stage preprocessing pipeline that integrates standardized early-stage preprocessing, artifact subspace reconstruction, and signal-space projection. This approach enhanced data quality by precisely removing saccadic potential effects even in setups with minimal channels. To uncover the electrophysiological correlates of LD, we applied this methodology to LD data collected across laboratories and explored sensor- and source-level markers hypothesized to underlie LD. Compared to non-lucid REM sleep, in line with recent findings we observed few robust differences on the EEG sensor level. In contrast, on the source level, beta power (12-30 Hz) was reduced during LD in right central and parietal areas including the temporo-parietal junction, potentially associated with a conscious reassessment of the veridicality of the currently perceived reality. Gamma1 power (30-36 Hz) around the onset of LD eye signaling increased in right temporo-occipital regions including the right precuneus, in line with its involvement in self-referential thinking. Source-level connectivity analyses revealed alpha (8-12 Hz) mediated communication between anterior frontal and posterior areas, which are usually functionally disconnected during non-lucid REM sleep. Taken together, these findings illuminate the electrophysiological correlates of LD, laying further groundwork for decoding the mechanisms of this intriguing state of consciousness.

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A systematic review of new empirical data on lucid dream induction techniques

Cited by 19 publications

References 53 publications

Influencing dreams through sensory stimulation: a systematic review

Influencing dreams through sensory stimulation: a systematic review

Insomnia and REM sleep instability

Electrophysiological correlates of lucid dreaming

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