The role of the basolateral amygdala in dreaming

Blake, Yvonne; Terburg, David; Balchin, Ross; Honk, Jack van; Solms, Mark

doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2018.12.016

“…From a neuroscience perspective, one key premise of these theoretical models is that experiencing emotions in dreams implicates the same brain circuits as in wakefulness (Hobson & Pace‐Schott, ; Schwartz, ). Preliminary evidence from two anatomical investigations showed that impaired structural integrity of the left amygdala was associated with reduced emotional intensity in dreams (Blake, Terburg, Balchin, van Honk, & Solms, ; De Gennaro et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fear in dreams and in wakefulness: Evidence for day/night affective homeostasis

Sterpenich

¹

,

Perogamvros

²

,

Tononi

³

et al. 2019

Human Brain Mapping

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Recent neuroscientific theories have proposed that emotions experienced in dreams contribute to the resolution of emotional distress and preparation for future affective reactions. We addressed one emerging prediction, namely that experiencing fear in dreams is associated with more adapted responses to threatening signals during wakefulness. Using a stepwise approach across two studies, we identified brain regions activated when experiencing fear in dreams and showed that frightening dreams modulated the response of these same regions to threatening stimuli during wakefulness. Specifically, in Study 1, we performed serial awakenings in 18 participants recorded throughout the night with high-density electroencephalography (EEG) and asked them whether they experienced any fear in their dreams. Insula and midcingulate cortex activity increased for dreams containing fear. In Study 2, we tested 89 participants and found that those reporting higher incidence of fear in their dreams showed reduced emotional arousal and fMRI response to fear-eliciting stimuli in the insula, amygdala and midcingulate cortex, while awake. Consistent with better emotion regulation processes, the same participants displayed increased medial prefrontal cortex activity. These findings support that emotions in dreams and wakefulness engage similar neural substrates, and substantiate a link between emotional processes occurring during sleep and emotional brain functions during wakefulness.

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“…The study of dreaming is challenging because people cannot report their dream experiences as they are happening but only as they are recalled upon awakening. Studies linking the affective content of dream reports to structural brain differences have yielded inconclusive results (De Gennaro et al, 2011;Blake et al, 2019). Surprisingly, hardly any studies have related affective dream experiences-recalled and reported upon awakening-to the neural processes of preawakening sleep (assumed to occur at the time of having those experiences) (Nielsen and Chénier, 1999;Daoust et al, 2008;Sterpenich et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

EEG Frontal Alpha Asymmetry and Dream Affect: Alpha Oscillations over the Right Frontal Cortex during REM Sleep and Presleep Wakefulness Predict Anger in REM Sleep Dreams

Sikka

¹

,

Noreika

²

,

Valli

³

2019

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Affective experiences are central not only to our waking life but also to rapid eye movement (REM) sleep dreams. Despite our increasing understanding of the neural correlates of dreaming, we know little about the neural correlates of dream affect. Frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) is considered a marker of affective states and traits as well as affect regulation in the waking state. Here, we explored whether FAA during REM sleep and during evening resting wakefulness is related to affective experiences in REM sleep dreams. EEG recordings were obtained from 17 human participants (7 men) who spent 2 nights in the sleep laboratory. Participants were awakened 5 min after the onset of every REM stage after which they provided a dream report and rated their dream affect. Two-minute preawakening EEG segments were analyzed. Additionally, 8 min of evening presleep and morning postsleep EEG were recorded during resting wakefulness. Mean spectral power in the alpha band (8-13 Hz) and corresponding FAA were calculated over the frontal (F4-F3) sites. Results showed that FAA during REM sleep, and during evening resting wakefulness, predicted ratings of dream anger. This suggests that individuals with greater alpha power in the right frontal hemisphere may be less able to regulate (i.e., inhibit) strong affective states, such as anger, in dreams. Additionally, FAA was positively correlated across wakefulness and REM sleep. Together, these findings imply that FAA may serve as a neural correlate of affect regulation not only in the waking but also in the dreaming state.

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“…From a neuroscience perspective, one key premise of these theoretical models is that experiencing emotions in dreams implicates the same brain circuits as in wakefulness (Hobson JA and EF Pace-Schott 2002;Schwartz S 2003). Preliminary evidence from two anatomical investigations showed that impaired structural integrity of the left amygdala was associated with reduced emotional intensity in dreams (De Gennaro L et al 2011;Blake Y et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fear in dreams and in wakefulness: evidence for day/night affective homeostasis

Sterpenich

¹

,

Perogamvros

²

,

Tononi

³

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Recent neuroscientific theories have proposed that emotions experienced in dreams contribute to the resolution of emotional distress and preparation for future affective reactions. We addressed one emerging prediction, namely that experiencing fear in dreams is associated with more adapted responses to threatening signals during wakefulness. Using a stepwise approach across two studies, we identified brain regions activated when experiencing fear in dreams and showed that frightening dreams modulated the response of these same regions to threatening stimuli during wakefulness. Specifically, in Study 1, we performed serial awakenings in 18 participants recorded throughout the night with highdensity EEG and asked them whether they experienced any fear in their dreams. Insula and midcingulate cortex activity increased for dreams containing fear. In Study 2, we tested 89 participants and found that those reporting higher incidence of fear in their dreams showed reduced emotional arousal and fMRI response to fear-eliciting stimuli in the insula, amygdala and midcingulate cortex, while awake. Consistent with better emotion regulation processes, the same participants displayed increased medial prefrontal cortex activity. These findings support that emotions in dreams and wakefulness engage similar neural substrates, and substantiate a link between emotional processes occurring during sleep and emotional brain functions during wakefulness. SIGNIFICANT STATEMENTHighly debated while pivotal to current theoretical models of dreaming, the relationship between emotion processing during wakefulness and in dreams remains elusive. In a first study, we used high-density EEG recordings and observed that regions involved in fear processing (i.e. the insula and midcingulate cortex) were activated during fear-related dreams. This first finding demonstrates that emotions in dreams engage similar neural circuits as during wakefulness. In a second study, using fMRI, we show that higher incidence of fear in dreams was associated with reduced emotional arousal and brain responses indicative of better emotion regulation during wakefulness. Together, these results strongly support the idea that experiencing fear in a secure environment, as in dreams, relates to more adapted responses to threatening events in real life. 2000), others reported a balance of positive and negative emotions (Schredl M and E Doll 1998), or found that joy and emotions related to approach behaviors may prevail (Fosse R et al. 2001;Malcolm-Smith S et al. 2012). When performing a lexicostatistical analysis of large datasets of dream reports, a clear dissociation between dreams containing basic, mostly fear-related, emotions and those with other more social emotions (e.g. embarrassment, excitement, frustration) was found, highlighting distinct affective modes operating during dreaming, with fear in dreams representing a prevalent and biologically-relevant emotional category (Revonsuo A 2000;Schwartz S 2004). Thus, if fear-containing dreams serve an emotion regulation f...

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The role of the basolateral amygdala in dreaming

Cited by 31 publications

References 75 publications

Fear in dreams and in wakefulness: Evidence for day/night affective homeostasis

Fear in dreams and in wakefulness: Evidence for day/night affective homeostasis

EEG Frontal Alpha Asymmetry and Dream Affect: Alpha Oscillations over the Right Frontal Cortex during REM Sleep and Presleep Wakefulness Predict Anger in REM Sleep Dreams

Fear in dreams and in wakefulness: evidence for day/night affective homeostasis

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