Lucid Dreams

1
Lucid Dreams

• Group 10 Chi-Hang Lau, Anita Leung, Clarisse
  Miguel, Elisa Tsan, Alistair Wong
• COGS 175
• Dr. Pineda
• March 3, 2008

2
Presentation Outline

• Introduction What are Lucid Dreams? (Clarisse)
• Characteristics (Anita)
• Experimental Evidence and Techniques (Elisa,
  Clarisse)
• Induction of Lucid Dreams (Alistair)
• Applications (Alistair, Chi-Hang)
• Conclusion/Discussion (Together)

3
What is a Lucid Dream?

• The Conscious Dream
• Knowing you are dreaming, when you are dreaming.
• An Alternate State of Consciousness?
• Becoming conscious during sleep

4
A Brief History

• Aristotles On Dreams
• St. Augustine, A.D. 415
• Tibetan Buddhists (8th Century)
• Dream Yoga - reaching the light
• The Marquis dHervey de Saint-Denys
• wrote Dreams and the Means to Direct Them (1867)
• Frederik Willems van Eeden
• coined lucid dream (1913)

5
Characteristics of Lucid Dreams

• Full awareness of dream state (consciously and
  perceptually)
• Ability to make free decisions in the dream
• Memory functions as if in waking life
• i.e. Full memory of all lucid dream experiences
  in waking state as well as during lucid dream
  state
• Awareness of the meaning of symbols

6
Important Brain Areas Involved in Lucid Dreaming

• Dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex
• Dietrich
• While non-lucid dreaming, PET studies show a
  large deactivation of areas in DL
• Contrary, in lucid dreaming, there is DL
  activation (Hobson 2001)
• Inferior parietal lobe
• LaBerge
• Showed increases in inferior parietal lobe
  activity in lucid dreaming, an area known to
  involve consciousness

7
Stages of Sleep

• NREM (non-rapid eye movement)
• Stage 1 theta waves
• Stage 2 sleep spindles and k complexes
• Stage 3 delta waves (lt50 total wave patterns)
• Stage 4 delta waves (gt50 total wave patterns)
• REM (rapid eye movement)
• Tonic persistent sleep events (striated and
  desynchronized muscle inhibition)
• Phasic intermittent sleep events (rapid eye
  movements, muscle twitches)

8
Polysomnographic recordings

• EEG electrical activity from brain via
  electrodes on scalp
• EOG (electrooculogram) resting potential of
  retina
• EMG (electromyogram) muscular activity
• FP (finger plethysmograph) blood flow

9
Spectral Analysis

• delta (1-4 Hz)
• theta (5-7 Hz)
• alpha (8-12 Hz)
• beta-1 (13-19 Hz)
• beta-2 (20-29 Hz)

10
Physiological Differences (Holzinger et al. 2006)

• epochs of lucid dreaming associated with more
  beta-1 activity than non-lucid dreaming
• Beta-1 activity ratios
• Frontal parietal
• Non-lucid 1.00 1.16
• Lucid 1.00 1.77
• Hemispheric differences
• highest increase in left parietal lobe (an area
  associated with semantic capacity)

11
Experimental Inducement

• Experimental Training
• M.I.L.D. Technique (LaBerge, 1981)
• Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams
• Increases occurrence of lucid dreams
• Mental and verbal rehearsals upon waking and
  before sleeping
• Incorporate into Long-Term Memory

I will have a lucid dream tonight
12
Recognizing a Lucid Dream

• How do we know ?

13
Recognizing a Lucid Dream

• How do we know ?
• REM Sleep
• Phasic activity (LaBerge et al. 1986)

14
Recognizing a Lucid Dream

• How do we know ?
• REM Sleep
• Phasic activity (LaBerge et al. 1986)
• Physiological Signals

15
Recognizing a Lucid Dream

• How do we know ?
• REM Sleep
• Phasic activity (LaBerge et al. 1986)
• Physiological Signals
• Eye Movement (Left?Right ?L ?R)
• lucid dream occurring

16
Recognizing a Lucid Dream

• How do we know ?
• REM Sleep
• Phasic activity (LaBerge et al. 1986)
• Physiological Signals
• Eye Movement (Left?Right ?L ?R)
• lucid dream occurring
• Hand Clenching (Left and Right) (Erlacher et al.
  2003)

17
Recognizing a Lucid Dream

• How do we know ?
• REM Sleep
• Phasic activity (LaBerge et al. 1986)
• Physiological Signals
• Eye Movement (Left?Right ?L ?R)
• lucid dream occurring
• Hand Clenching (Left and Right) (Erlacher et al.
  2003)
• More accurate experimental methods
• Match physiological signal to dream occurrence

18
Induction Techniques
19
Induction Techniques

• Dream Journal
• Write down your dreams

20
Induction Techniques

• Dream Journal
• Write down your dreams
• Reality Checks
• Consciously ask if you are in a dream

21
Induction Techniques

• Dream Journal
• Write down your dreams
• Reality Checks
• Consciously ask if you are in a dream
• Meditation
• Focus and intend on lucid dreaming

22
Applications of Lucid Dreaming

• Explore subconscious mind
• Overcome mental obstacles
• Alleviating fears

23
Lucid Dream Treatment Pilot Study

• Conducted by Spoormaker and van den Bout in 2006
• Hypothesis Can exercises in Lucid dreaming be
  used to overcome sufferers of chronic nightmares?

24
Lucid Dream Treatment Pilot Study Subjects

• 23 volunteers
• Excluded people suffering from hypnagogic
  hallucinations and/or night terrors
• Excluded subjects currently on medication
• All reported to suffer from Chronic Nightmares
  for over a year
• Nightmare defined as a frightening dream to
  directly caused a return to full consciousness
  (awakening).

25
Lucid Dreaming Treatment Pilot Study Method

• Subjects were given the Sleep-50 to evaluate
  sleep
• Subjects divided into three groups, each given a
  different degree of LDT.
• ltGroup1gt Each subject given a one on one LDT
  seminar
• ltGroup2gt Subjects given group LDT seminar
• ltGroup3gt No LDT seminar was given

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Lucid Dream Treatment Pilot Study Method (cont.)

• Subjects were reevaluated 12 weeks later with the
  Sleep-50

27
Lucid Dreaming Treatment Pilot Study LDT seminar

• 2 hour seminar
• Subjects educated about Lucid Dreaming and
  triggering methods
• Given imaging exercises the nightmare, while
  reaffirming them as a dream.
• Instructed Subjects to try to induce nightmares
  before sleep to occur during sleep.

28
Lucid Dreaming Treatment Pilot Study Results
29
Lucid Dreaming Treatment Pilot Study Results
(cont.)
30
Lucid Dreaming Treatment Pilot Study Discussion

• Study had many limitations
• - small sample size
• - limited time frame
• - LDT seminar limited
• - Sleep-50 fail to report more detailed
  information on subjects.
• - Only 6 subjects successfully reported
  full Lucid Dreaming

31
Lucid Dreaming Treatment Pilot Study Discussion
(cont.)

• Study Headway
• - Statistically significant results.
• - LDT did target nightmare specifically,
  not quality of sleep
• - As a pilot study, leaves much room for
  further study.

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Discussion !

• Questions ?

33
References

• Dietrich, Arne. Functional neuroanatomy of
  altered states of consciousness The transient
  hypofrontality hypothesis. Consciousness and
  Cognition 12, 2003. pp. 231256.
• Erlacher, Daniel D., Michael Shredl, Stephen
  LaBerge. Motor area activation during dreamed
  hand clenching A pilot study on EEG alpha band.
  Sleep and Hypnosis. Volume 5(4). 2003. pp.
  182-187.
• Fisher, Leslie E., Benjamin Wallace.
  Consciousness and Behavior. Waveland Press, IL,
  2003.
• Gackenbach, Jayne, Stephen LaBerge. Conscious
  Mind, Sleeping Brain Perspectives on Lucid
  Dreaming. Plenum Press, New York, 1988.
• Holzinger, Brigitte, LaBerge, Stephen, Levitan,
  Lynne. Psychophysiological Correlates of Lucid
  Dreaming. Dreaming. Vol 16(2), Jun 2006, pp.
  88-95.
• LaBerge, Stephen S., Lucid dreaming
  Physiological correlates of consciousness during
  REM sleep. The Journal of mind and behavior.
  Vol. 7(2-3), 1986. pp. 251-258.

34
References (Cont.)

• LaBerge Stephen S. Lucid dreaming verified by
  volitional communication during REM sleep. Vol
  52(3), 1981. pp. 727-732.
• Spoormaker, Victor I., Jan van den Bout, and Eli
  J. G. Meijer. Lucid Dreaming Treatment for
  Nightmares A Series of Cases. Dreaming, Vol. 13,
  No. 3, September 2003. pp. 181-186.
• 9. Wantanabe, Tsuneo. Lucid Dreaming Its
  Experimental Proof and Psychological
  Conditions. J. Intl. Soc. LifeInfo. Sci. Vol.
  21, No.1, March 2003. pp. 159-165.
• 10. Spoormaker, Victor I., Jan van den Bout.
  Lucid Dreaming Treatment for Nightmares A Pilot
  Study. Psychother Psychosom 75, 2006. pp.
  389394.
• The Lucidity Institute. http//www.lucidty.com.
  (accessed February 2008).
• 12. Dr. Susan Blackmore. Lucid Dreaming Awake
  in Your Sleep? http//www.susanblackmore.co.uk/Ar
  ticles/si91ld.html (accessed February 2008).