High Frequency Lucid Dreaming

Dreaming has always been something that has confounded researchers and scientists. While no one really knows exactly why we dream, how we dream, and what determines what we dream, there have been many attempts to answer those questions. There are many theories yet no one knows the exact answer. One phenomenon in particular is lucid dreaming. Lucid dreaming is when a person who is sleeping and having a dream is aware that they are dreaming. Many times, they are also able to control their dreams. Most adults will have lucid dreams at least once in their lifetime. 

In a study done by Benjamin Baird et al., it was found that there is an increase in functional connectivity between the anterior prefrontal cortex and the temporoparietal association areas during frequent lucid dreaming and a decrease in functional connectivity between the left  anterior prefrontal cortex and the bilateral insula. This is particularly interesting because these regions of the brain are usually not activated while people are asleep. There were 28 participants in total from the University of Wisconsin- Madison. Those who were classified as frequent lucid dreamers reported having at least 3-4 lucid dreams per week. For each frequent lucid dreamer, there was one non-lucid dreamer.

In “Real-time dialogue between experimenters and dreamers during REM sleep,” by Karen Konkoly et al., experimenters were able to communicate with participants while they were having lucid dreams. They were able to give signals with their eyes as well as facial movements in order to answer the questions the experimenters were asking them. This study was able to demonstrate that during lucid dreaming, people are conscious enough to be able to communicate their dreams while they are still happening.

References:

Baird, B., Castelnovo, A., Gosseries, O. et al. Frequent lucid dreaming associated with increased functional connectivity between frontopolar cortex and temporoparietal association areas. Sci Rep 8, 17798 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-36190-w

Konkoly, K. R., Appel, K., Chabani, E., Mangiaruga, A., Gott, J., Mallett, R., Caughran, B., Witkowski, S., Whitmore, N. W., Mazurek, C. Y., Berent, J. B., Weber, F. D., Türker, B., Leu-Semenescu, S., Maranci, J. B., Pipa, G., Arnulf, I., Oudiette, D., Dresler, M., & Paller, K. A. (2021). Real-time dialogue between experimenters and dreamers during REM sleep. Current Biology, 31(7), 1417–1427.e6.