Dreams, Sleep, and Psychotropic Drugs

Nicolas, Alain; Ruby, Perrine

doi:10.3389/fneur.2020.507495

Cited by 12 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 118 publications

(135 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Moreover, our survey did not require information on any possible pharmacological treatment that can affect sleep and dreaming (Nicolas & Ruby, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Pandemic nightmares: Effects on dream activity of the COVID‐19 lockdown in Italy

Scarpelli

Alfonsi

Mangiaruga

et al. 2021

Journal of Sleep Research

157

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

COVID-19 has critically impacted the world. Recent works have found substantial changes in sleep and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dreams could give us crucial information about people's well-being, so here we have directly investigated the consequences of lockdown on the oneiric activity in a large Italian sample: 5,988 adults completed a web-survey during lockdown. We investigated sociodemographic and COVID-19-related information, sleep quality (by the Medical Outcomes Study-Sleep Scale), mental health (by the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales), dream and nightmare frequency, and related emotional aspects (by the Mannheim Dream Questionnaire). Comparisons between our sample and a population-based sample revealed that Italians are having more frequent nightmares and dreams during the pandemic. A multiple logistic regression model showed the predictors of high dream recall (young age, female gender, not having children, sleep duration) and high nightmare frequency (young age, female gender, modification of napping, sleep duration, intrasleep wakefulness, sleep problem index, anxiety, depression). Moreover, we found higher emotional features of dream activity in workers who have stopped working, in people who have relatives/friends infected by or who have died from COVID-19 and in subjects who have changed their sleep habits. Our findings point to the fact that the predictors of high dream recall and nightmares are consistent with the continuity between sleep mentation and daily experiences. According to the arousal-retrieval model, we found that poor sleep predicts a high nightmare frequency. We suggest monitoring dream changes during the epidemic, and also considering the implications for clinical treatment and prevention of mental and sleep disorders.

show abstract

“…Moreover, our survey did not require information on any possible pharmacological treatment that can affect sleep and dreaming (Nicolas & Ruby, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Also, the information about sleep quality is not supported by any systematic sleep measures, neither daily sleep diaries nor objective measures. Moreover, our survey did not require information on any possible pharmacological treatment that can affect sleep and dreaming (Nicolas & Ruby, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pandemic nightmares: Effects on dream activity of the COVID‐19 lockdown in Italy

Scarpelli

Alfonsi

Mangiaruga

et al. 2021

Journal of Sleep Research

157

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A critical aspect of our study is that the study groups did not use any medication, as it could have affected sleep and circadian rhythms. Antidepressant intake (e.g., tricyclic antidepressants, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) has been shown to lower dream recall rates and enhance positively toned dreams in individuals experiencing primary insomnia [38] and depression [39,40]. The antidepressant effects on altered sleep (e.g., early morning awakening, reduced REM latency) often observed in this patient population [3] might adversely affect the ability to recall dreams and dream emotional salience.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Circadian and Sleep Modulation of Dreaming in Women with Major Depression

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Growing evidence indicates an association between reduced dream recall and depressive symptomatology. Here, we tested the prediction that reduced dream recall in individuals experiencing major depressive disorder (MDD) is due to alterations in circadian and sleep processes. Nine young healthy women (20–31 years) and eight young unmedicated women (20–31 years) diagnosed with MDD underwent a 40 h multiple nap protocol with ten alternating cycles of 150 min wake/75 min sleep under a stringently controlled circadian laboratory protocol. After each nap, we assessed dream recall, number of dreams and dream emotional load using the Sleep Mentation Questionnaire. Dream recall and the number of dreams did not significantly differ between groups (pFDR > 0.1). However, there was a significant difference for the dream emotional load (interaction of “Group” vs. “Time”, pFDR = 0.01). Women with MDD had a two-fold higher (negative) emotional load as compared to healthy control women, particularly after naps during the circadian night (between ~22:00 h and ~05:00 h; Tukey–Kramer test, p = 0.009). Furthermore, higher (negative) dream emotional load was associated with impaired mood levels in both groups (R2 = 0.71; p < 0.001). Our findings suggest that the circadian and sleep modulation of dreaming may remain intact in unmedicated young women experiencing MDD.

show abstract

“…Antidepressant and anxiolytic drugs have a memory suppressing effect [ 44 ]. They emphasize the discovery of newer therapies without adverse effects.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cucurbita maxima Seeds Reduce Anxiety and Depression and Improve Memory

Wahid

Alqahtani

Khan

2023

Behavioural Neurology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The current study was planned to assess the neuropharmacological benefits of the Cucurbita maxima seed. These seeds have been conventionally used for the nutritional as well as amelioration of various diseases. However, there was a need to provide a pharmacological basis for such use. Four central nervous system-related functions, that is, anxiety, depression, memory, and motor coordination, were evaluated, and the levels of brain biogenic amines were also assessed. Anxiety was evaluated through selected experimental models, such as light and dark apparatus, elevated plus maze, head dip, and open field test. The head dip test was mainly used to assess exploratory behavior. Depression was assessed by two animal models, that is, the forced swim test and tail suspension test. Memory and learning ability were assessed by the passive avoidance test, stationary rod apparatus, and Morris’s water maze test. Motor skilled learning was assessed by stationary rod and rotarod apparatus. Reversed phase high-pressure liquid chromatography was used to determine biogenic amine levels. Results reveal that C. maxima exhibited anxiolytic and antidepressant effects with memory improvement. There was a reduction in the weight of the animal following chronic administration. Furthermore, no remarkable effects were observed on motor coordination. Norepinephrine was found elevated, which may be linked to its antidepressant effects. These biological effects of C. maxima may be due to the presence of secondary metabolites, such as cucurbitacin, beta-sitosterol, polyphenolic compounds, citrulline, kaempferol, arginine, β-carotene, quercetin, and other antioxidants. The outcomes of the present study authenticate that the chronic use of C. maxima seeds reduces the intensity of neurological problems like anxiety and depression.

show abstract

Dreams, Sleep, and Psychotropic Drugs

Cited by 12 publications

References 118 publications

Pandemic nightmares: Effects on dream activity of the COVID‐19 lockdown in Italy

Pandemic nightmares: Effects on dream activity of the COVID‐19 lockdown in Italy

Circadian and Sleep Modulation of Dreaming in Women with Major Depression

Cucurbita maxima Seeds Reduce Anxiety and Depression and Improve Memory

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About