The Conversation between Dreamers and Experimenters during REM sleep

         This semester we had the opportunity to listen to Gabriela Torres Platas talk about her research demonstrating how phenomenological and cognitive characteristics of dreaming can be interrogated in real time by understanding the empirical exploration of what dreams are and how they work. She begins her presentation by explaining the definition of REM sleep. REM sleep stands for Rapid Eye Movement sleeping. REM sleep is basically a crucial stage of sleep where it involves around rapid eye movement, vivid dreaming and brain activity that is similar to that of someone being awake, however the person is in a state of atonia, or muscle paralysis. During REM sleep, the dreamer experiences high brainwave activity which is crucial for cognitive functioning by replenishing neurotransmitters which are important for memory, focus and performance.

 

Lucid dreaming however is different from REM sleep because it is a rare phenomenon that occurs during REM sleep which makes it difficult for researchers to capture during lab or research in general. Platas explains that in the overall goal of this research was to study whether  or not participants can communicate during REM sleep by using eye movements to answer math related questions. Researchers used the technique of monitoring sleep using EEG measuring brain waves, EOG tracking eye movements and EMG which measures muscle tone. Targeted Lucidity Reactivation (TLR) training was used to make lucid dreaming more likely to happen. While answering math related questions when the participants responded, researchers collected information regarding working memory and the ability of participants responding from within their dream. Researcher were able to communicate with dreamers using techniques such as eye movement by studying and having a big influence on dream content such as lucid dreaming and REM sleep.

 

The article "The Cognitive Neuroscience of Lucid Dreaming" by Barid et al. explains that while neuroscience has studied the topic of lucid dreaming since the late 1970's, it has gained increasing attention due to its relevance on the conscious mind. Researchers explain that based off past experiments that even thought there is a strong relationship between phasic REM sleep and lucid dreaming, there is also a strong relationship amongst Acetylcholine (Ach) in REM sleep regulation. They also speculate that Galantamine which is a medication used to treat mild to moderate dementia for symptoms associated with Alzheimer's disease, significantly increased sensory vividness which is expected given how intense REM sleep can have on an individual.

Sources:  

Konkoly, Karen, et al. “Real-time dialogue between experimenters and dreamers during rem sleep.” SSRN Electronic Journal, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.01.026. 

Baird, Benjamin, et al. “The cognitive neuroscience of Lucid dreaming.” Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, vol. 100, May 2019, pp. 305–323, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.03.008. 

“Galantamine (Oral Route).” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/galantamine-oral-route/description/drg-20067458. Accessed 10 Dec. 2025.