Dream recall and the menstrual cycle

Sheldrake, Peter; Cormack, Margaret

doi:10.1016/0022-3999(74)90054-3

Cited by 12 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Our study failed to show any association between the stage of the menstrual cycle and dream recall/affect. The results of previous studies regarding this subject have been conflicting [ 22 , 23 ]. In a previous study of ours, we showed that, during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, women reported pleasant dreams more frequently [ 19 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dream Recall/Affect and Cortisol: An Exploratory Study

Triantafyllou

Ilias²,

Economou

et al. 2022

Clocks & Sleep

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The effect of cortisol on dreams has been scarcely studied. The aim of this exploratory study was to assess the possible effect of cortisol levels on dream recall/affect, considering, in female subjects, their menstrual cycle phase. Fifteen men and fifteen women were recruited. Saliva samples were used for the detection of cortisol levels. Participants were instructed to provide four saliva samples, during three consecutive days. After awakening, on the second and third day, they were asked whether they could recall the previous night’s dreams and whether these were pleasant or unpleasant. Female subjects followed this procedure twice: firstly, during the luteal phase and, secondly, during the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. Subjects with higher evening or higher morning cortisol levels tended to show increased dream recall; a non-statistically significant association between morning cortisol levels and positive dream affect was also found. This association acquired statistical significance for salivary morning cortisol levels exceeding the upper normal level of 19.1 nmol/L (OR: 4.444, 95% CI: 1.108–17.830, p-value: 0.039). No connection between menstrual cycle stages and dream recall/affect was detected. In conclusion, cortisol may be a crucial neuromodulator, affecting dream recall and content. Therefore, its effects on sleep and dreams should be further studied.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dream Recall/Affect and Cortisol: An Exploratory Study

Triantafyllou

Ilias²,

Economou

et al. 2022

Clocks & Sleep

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“…Although the exact physiological (genomic vs. nongenomic) or mnemonic (acquisition, consolidation, or retention) mechanisms through which progestins affect cognition are not yet defined, the present data confirm and expand upon earlier reports of the effects ofprogestins on cognitive and affective function. These and additional data from future animal studies may extend the burgeoning literature on the cognitive effects of progestins and help elucidate the manner in which P mitigates the beneficial effects ofE on mood (Rice, Graves, McCurry, & Larson, 1997), enhances dream recall (Sheldrake & Cormack, 1974, 1976, or impairs retrieval oflearned information coincident with intact encoding in women with PMS (Keenan, Lindamer, & Jong, 1995).…”

Section: Post-injection Intervalmentioning

confidence: 90%

Progestins influence performance on cognitive tasks independent of changes in affective behavior

Frye

Lacey

2000

Psychobiology

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In this study, the effects of progestins on various cognitive and affective tasks were investigated. Ovariectomized rats (N = 72) received subcutaneously 0.0, 4.0, or 8.0 mg/kg of progesterone (P), dihydroprogesterone (DHP), or 5a-pregnan-3a-oI-20-one (3a,5a-THP) suspended in 10% ethanoVsesame oil vlv. For the cognitive tasks (Y-maze, inhibitory avoidance, and object recognition), the subjects were injected after habituation and training trials and were tested 24 h later. For the nociception and affective tasks (open field, elevated plus-maze, and tailflick), the subjects were injected 1 or 24 h before testing. P reduced latencies to the goal arm in the Y-maze, enhanced latencies to the shock-associated side of the inhibitory avoidance chamber, and increased the percentage of time with a novel object. DHP reduced latencies to the goal arm, increased the percentage of correct choices in the Y-maze, and increased crossover latencies in the inhibitory avoidance task. 3a,5a-THP administration enhanced performance in the inhibitory avoidance task. P, DHP, and 3a,5a-THP increased the number of entries into the central squares of a brightly lit open field, open arm time in the elevated plus-maze, and tailflick latencies, when administered 1 h, but not 24 h, prior to testing. These data suggest that some progestins, when administered following habituation and training and 24 h prior to testing, produce changes in cognitive performance that do not coincide with overt changes in the affective behaviors examined.Cognitive changes over endogenous hormone cycles following removal of the ovaries and after hormone replacement suggest that there are activational effects of steroids on cognitive performance. The majority of these studies have focused on estrogen's (E) effects. Systemic E administration to ovariectomized rats (McCord, Hamlin, Pool, & Milner, 1979) and mice (Miele, Rosellini, & Svare, 1988) enhances conditioned aversions and reverses the learning deficits in T-maze performance induced by scopolamine (Dohanich, Fader, & Javorsky, 1994). Intrahippocampal E to ovariectomized rats significantly improves long-term memory retention in a spatial water maze task, as compared with vehicle-administered controls (Packard & Teather, 1997). These studies, and others, provide evidence that E has activational effects on cognitive performance in rodents.Progesterone (P) normally varies with E over endogenous hormonal cycles and may itself have important effects on cognitive performance; however, the effects of

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“…Studies in SAI have not dealt with sex as a relevant variable. Because menstruation in the female may influence the organization of physiological processes and mentation in sleep (Hartmann, 1966;Sheldrake & Cormack, 1974;Swanson & Foulkes, 1968), sessions in SAI are probably best scheduled outside of such periods. More generally, SAI should probably not be conducted with males or females during times of strong emotional stress that influence sleep mentation (Breger, Hunter, & Lane, 1971) and sleep physiology (Hartmann, 1973, pp.…”

Section: Sexmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sleep-assisted instruction.

Aarons¹

1976

Psychological Bulletin

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The question of learning from materials presented during sleep has been answered positively by Soviet studies and negatively by Western studies. However, procedural differences among studies have been confounded with the absence of an established criterion for sleep. The present paper reviews 11 studies in sleep learning for the potential practical value of sleep-assisted instruction (SAI). A strategy of optimizing compatibility between learning and sleep variables to support SAI is proposed within the context of both wake and sleep research on attention, perception, and memory. Age, sex, health, wake learning capacity, and suggestibility are important moderating variables in SAI. The individual's motivation and set, meaningful-relevant learning material, activation of low-voltage EEG sleep patterns and coordinated wake learning with extended training are tentatively deduced as necessary conditions in applied SAI. (111/2 p ref)

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Dream recall and the menstrual cycle

Cited by 12 publications

References 4 publications

Dream Recall/Affect and Cortisol: An Exploratory Study

Dream Recall/Affect and Cortisol: An Exploratory Study

Progestins influence performance on cognitive tasks independent of changes in affective behavior

Sleep-assisted instruction.

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