Abstract
Humans typically lack awareness that they are dreaming while dreaming. However, at times a remarkable exception occurs and reflective consciousness can be regained while dreaming, referred to as lucid dreaming. While most individuals experience lucid dreams rarely there is substantial variance in lucid dream frequency. The neurobiological basis of lucid dreaming is unknown, but evidence points to involvement of anterior prefrontal cortex (aPFC) and parietal cortex. This study evaluated the neuroanatomical/neurofunctional correlates of frequent lucid dreams and specifically whether functional connectivity of aPFC is associated with frequent lucid dreams. We analyzed structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging from an exceptional sample of fourteen individuals who reported ≥3 lucid dreams/week and a control group matched on age, gender and dream recall that reported ≤1 lucid dream/year. Compared to controls, the frequent lucid dream group showed significantly increased resting-state functional connectivity between left aPFC and bilateral angular gyrus, bilateral middle temporal gyrus and right inferior frontal gyrus, and higher node degree and strength in left aPFC. In contrast, no significant differences in brain structure were observed. Our results suggest that frequent lucid dreaming is associated with increased functional connectivity between aPFC and temporoparietal association areas, regions normally deactivated during sleep.
Highlights
For reasons not currently understood, humans are typically unaware that they are dreaming while dreaming
In the current research we evaluated an exceptional sample of individuals who reported lucid dreams spontaneously in the range of approximately every other night to multiple times per night compared to a control group matched on age, gender and dream recall frequency but who reported lucid dreams once per year or less
We found that compared to a control group matched on age, gender and dream recall frequency, individuals who reported lucid dreams spontaneously approximately every other night or more had increased resting-state functional connectivity between the left anterior prefrontal cortex and the bilateral angular gyrus (AG), bilateral middle temporal gyrus (MTG) and right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG)
Summary
For reasons not currently understood, humans are typically unaware that they are dreaming while dreaming. In further support of a connection between the metacognitive functions of aPFC and lucid dreaming, a recent study found increased gray matter volume in two regions of the frontal pole in individuals who scored higher on a scale assessing the frequency of lucid dreams and/or dream content hypothesized to be related to lucidity[30]. These same regions showed increased BOLD activation in the monitoring component of a metacognitive thought-monitoring task. An analysis of brain structure and function in individuals who experience frequent lucid dreams, while controlling for dream recall frequency, is needed
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