Advancing understanding of lucid dreaming in humans

Researchers shed light on the neural underpinnings of lucid dreaming using a large sample size.

Lucid dreaming is a surreal phenomenon in which people are consciously aware that they are in a dream. Çağatay Demirel, from Donders Center for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University Medical Center, and colleagues shed light on the neural correlates of lucid dreaming in their study.

The researchers used a rigorous processing pipeline as they collected and assembled data from multiple labs to create what is, according to the authors, the largest sample size to date for this field of research.

Comparisons of brain activity during lucid dreaming, rapid eye movement sleep, and wakefulness revealed distinct activity patterns for lucid dreaming. These unique patterns reflect shifts in brain region activation and how brain regions communicate that may be linked to changes in perception, memory processing, self-awareness, and cognitive control.

According to Demirel, “This research opens the door to a deeper understanding of lucid dreaming as an intricate state of consciousness by pointing to the possibility that conscious experience can arise from within sleep itself. This work offers a perspective that could challenge the traditional binary view of sleep and wakefulness in future research.”