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Real-Time Dialogue between Experimenters and Dreamers During REM Sleep

Current Biology

51 Pages Posted: 28 May 2020 Publication Status: Published

See all articles by Karen Konkoly

Karen Konkoly

Northwestern University - Department of Psychology

Kristoffer Appel

Universität Osnabrück - Institute of Cognitive Science

Emma Chabani

Sorbonne University - Brain and Spine Institute

Alexander Y. Mironov

Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) - Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology

Anastasia Mangiaruga

Radboud University Nijmegen - Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior

Jarrod Gott

Radboud University Nijmegen - Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior

Remington Mallett

University of Texas at Austin - Department of Psychology

Bruce Caughran

Northwestern University - Department of Psychology

Sarah Witkowski

Northwestern University - Department of Psychology

Nathan Whitmore

Northwestern University - Department of Psychology

Jonathan Berent

Google-X

Frederik Weber

Radboud University Nijmegen - Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior

Gordon Pipa

Universität Osnabrück - Institute of Cognitive Science

Başak Türker

Sorbonne University - Brain and Spine Institute

Jean-Baptiste Maranci

Sorbonne University - Brain and Spine Institute

Artyom Sinin

Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) - Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology

Vladimir Dorokhov

Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) - Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology

Isabelle Arnulf

Sorbonne University - Brain and Spine Institute

Delphine Oudiette

Sorbonne University - Brain and Spine Institute

Martin Dresler

Radboud University Nijmegen - Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior

Ken Paller

Northwestern University - Department of Psychology

More...

Abstract

Dreams take us to a different reality, a hallucinatory world that feels as real as any waking experience. These often-bizarre episodes are emblematic of human sleep but have yet to be adequately explained. Retrospective dream reports are subject to distortion and forgetting, presenting a fundamental challenge for neuroscientific studies of dreaming. Here we show that individuals in the midst of a dream can perceive questions from an experimenter and provide answers using covert physiological signals. We implemented procedures for two-way-communication during polysomnographically verified Rapid-Eye-Movement (REM) sleep in multiple individuals. During REM sleep, these individuals exhibited various capabilities, including performing veridical perceptual analysis of novel information, maintaining information in working memory, computing simple answers, and expressing volitional replies. Their responses included distinctive eye movements, selective facial muscle contractions, and modulated breathing. These observations of interactive dreaming, repeatedly documented by five independent laboratory groups, demonstrate that phenomenological and cognitive characteristics of dreaming can be interrogated in real-time. This relatively unexplored communication channel can enable a variety of practical applications and a new strategy for empirical explorations of dreams.

Keywords: sleep, REM sleep, dreams, lucid dreaming, sleep learning

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Konkoly, Karen and Appel, Kristoffer and Chabani, Emma and Mironov, Alexander Y. and Mangiaruga, Anastasia and Gott, Jarrod and Mallett, Remington and Caughran, Bruce and Witkowski, Sarah and Whitmore, Nathan and Berent, Jonathan and Weber, Frederik and Pipa, Gordon and Türker, Başak and Maranci, Jean-Baptiste and Sinin, Artyom and Dorokhov, Vladimir and Arnulf, Isabelle and Oudiette, Delphine and Dresler, Martin and Paller, Ken, Real-Time Dialogue between Experimenters and Dreamers During REM Sleep. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3606772 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3606772

This version of the paper has not been formally peer reviewed.

Karen Konkoly

Northwestern University - Department of Psychology

2001 Sheridan Road
Evanston, IL 60208
United States

Kristoffer Appel

Universität Osnabrück - Institute of Cognitive Science ( email )

Neuer Graben
Osnabrück, 49074
Germany

Emma Chabani

Sorbonne University - Brain and Spine Institute ( email )

UFR 927, 4 Place Jussieu
Paris, PA F-75252
France

Alexander Y. Mironov

Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) - Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology

Leninsky Ave, 14
Moscow, 119991
Russia

Anastasia Mangiaruga

Radboud University Nijmegen - Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior ( email )

Postbus 9108
Nijmegen, 6500 HK
Netherlands

Jarrod Gott

Radboud University Nijmegen - Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior ( email )

Postbus 9108
Nijmegen, 6500 HK
Netherlands

Remington Mallett

University of Texas at Austin - Department of Psychology ( email )

2317 Speedway
Austin, TX Texas 78712
United States

Bruce Caughran

Northwestern University - Department of Psychology ( email )

2029 Sheridan Road
Swift Hall 102
Evanston, IL 60208
United States

Sarah Witkowski

Northwestern University - Department of Psychology ( email )

2029 Sheridan Road
Swift Hall 102
Evanston, IL 60208
United States

Nathan Whitmore

Northwestern University - Department of Psychology ( email )

2029 Sheridan Road
Swift Hall 102
Evanston, IL 60208
United States

Jonathan Berent

Google-X ( email )

Frederik Weber

Radboud University Nijmegen - Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior

Postbus 9108
Nijmegen, 6500 HK
Netherlands

Gordon Pipa

Universität Osnabrück - Institute of Cognitive Science

Neuer Graben
Osnabrück, 49074
Germany

Başak Türker

Sorbonne University - Brain and Spine Institute ( email )

UFR 927, 4 Place Jussieu
Paris, PA F-75252
France

Jean-Baptiste Maranci

Sorbonne University - Brain and Spine Institute ( email )

UFR 927, 4 Place Jussieu
Paris, PA F-75252
France

Artyom Sinin

Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) - Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology ( email )

Leninsky Ave, 14
Moscow, 119991
Russia

Vladimir Dorokhov

Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) - Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology ( email )

Leninsky Ave, 14
Moscow, 119991
Russia

Isabelle Arnulf

Sorbonne University - Brain and Spine Institute ( email )

UFR 927, 4 Place Jussieu
Paris, PA F-75252
France

Delphine Oudiette

Sorbonne University - Brain and Spine Institute ( email )

UFR 927, 4 Place Jussieu
Paris, PA F-75252
France

Martin Dresler

Radboud University Nijmegen - Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior ( email )

Postbus 9108
Nijmegen, 6500 HK
Netherlands

Ken Paller (Contact Author)

Northwestern University - Department of Psychology

2029 Sheridan Road
Swift Hall 102
Evanston, IL 60208
United States

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