Abstract
Lucid dreaming refers to a dream state characterized by the dreamers’ awareness of being in a dream and being able to volitionally control its content. The aim of this study was to describe and model neurophysiological evidence for the seven awareness criteria of lucid dreaming based on those proposed by Paul Tholey. Each of the awareness criteria was analyzed separately with regard to its underlying neurocircuits. We hypothesized that not one, but several regions are involved in the state of lucid dreaming. Our results have shown a satisfactory overlap of the awareness criteria and the brain regions activated. During lucid dreaming, a brain network seems to emerge, that is something other than the sum of its parts. Further research is needed to understand the psychoneurological underpinnings of lucid dreams.
Highlights
Lucid dreaming (LD) is a fascinating research topic and has attracted many enthusiasts
The most prominent feature of LD is the reactivation of brain areas that are inactive during regular REM-sleep dreams, which seem to explain the recovered awareness and consciousness of lucid dreamers
While lucid dreaming can be a helpful tool in treating nightmares, depression or anxiety (Reynolds et al, 2006; Spoormaker and van den Bout, 2006; Doll et al, 2009; Holzinger et al, 2015) lucid dreams are related to dissociative states, and phenomena like sleep paralysis, nightmares, or even psychosis or psychosis-like states might emerge in some cases (Holzinger, 2014; Aviram and Soffer-Dudek, 2018)
Summary
Lucid dreaming (LD) is a fascinating research topic and has attracted many enthusiasts. The phenomenon of LD is generally understood as the fact that a dreamer is aware that he/she is dreaming while dreaming (LaBerge, 1980; Spoormaker and van den Bout, 2006). Tholey and Utecht (1987) defined additional criteria explaining LD, such as awareness of freedom of decision, memory of the waking state, and full intellectual abilities. Gackenbach and LaBerge (1988) expanded the original definition by requiring the dream to be ongoing, because sometimes the dreamer wakes up upon realising his/her state, and that would be defined as a pre-lucid dream (PLD) instead. Deirdre Barrett (1992) in which the following four criteria were examined: (1) the dreamer is aware that he/she is dreaming, (2) objects disappear after waking, (3) physical laws need not apply in the dream, (4) the dreamer has a clear memory of the waking world
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