Dreaming and REM sleep
Open accessAbstract
The discovery, 40 years ago, of REM sleep and of its putative association with dreaming in the adult human raised the possibility that neuroscientific investigations of REM-sleep physiology would someday 'explain' the distinctive features of dream experience. I argue here against the possibility, since replicated psychological data demonstrate that REM sleep is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for dreaming to occur. Dreaming depends, rather, upon the possession of conscious representational intelligence in conjunction with any psychophysiological state in which ideation is being driven neither volitionally nor by external stimulation.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Foulkes found dream frequency rates of 20% for children younger than 7 years, compared to 80%-90% frequency rate in adults.
“In a laboratory study, he found dream frequency rates of 20% for children younger than 7 years, as compared to 80%–90% frequency rate in adults.4”
From Spotlight on dream recall: the ages of dreams (2018) · cites this paper as [4]
The CHILDREN'S DREAMS section (pp. 2–3) describes laboratory studies and reports that dream reports were scarce in early childhood. It does not give a 20% rate for children under 7; its reference to twenty concerns the number of children studied at each age. The CONCLUSION (p. 3) describes a substantial association between adult REM sleep and dream reporting but gives no 80%–90% rate. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredLonger reports, but with still low recall rate, are reached between ages 5 and 7 years.
“Longer reports, but with still low recall rate, are reached between ages 5 and 7 years.”
From Spotlight on dream recall: the ages of dreams (2018) · cites this paper as [4]
The CHILDREN'S DREAMS section (p. 3) reports relatively sparse dream reporting in early childhood, including in a study of children aged 5–8. The discussion on pp. 2–3 describes a stage-like development of dream reports, but does not specifically establish that reports become longer between ages 5 and 7. (LLM, conf=0.81)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredDream content at the age of 2-5 years shows a general absence of people, object, and events, being usually a static report of single characters.
“Specifically, dream content at the age of 2–5 years shows a general absence of people, object, and events, being usually a static report of single characters.”
From Spotlight on dream recall: the ages of dreams (2018) · cites this paper as [4]
The CHILDREN'S DREAMS section (pp. 2–3) describes preschool REM dream reports as scarce and impoverished, and imagery before age 7 as generally static. It does not establish a general absence of people, objects, and events or say that reports usually feature a single character; the studies described also begin at age 3, not 2. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredA first real development in dream content is reached at the age of 7 years, when the child starts to represent himself in the dream, with higher emotional content, active participation, and narrative structure, in dreams overall more frequent and longer.
“A first real development in dream content is reached at the age of 7 years, when the child starts to represent himself in the dream, with higher emotional content, active participation, and narrative structure, in dreams overall more frequent and longer.4,73,89,91”
From Spotlight on dream recall: the ages of dreams (2018) · cites this paper as [4]
Split into 2 atoms — 0 confirmed, 2 partially supported, 0 disputed, 0 misattributed, 0 unverifiable. Expand the claim to see per-atom verdicts.
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredDream content analysis reveals a full development and adult-like content of dream experience from 9 years of age.
“At the same time, dream content analysis reveals a full development and adult-like content of dream experience from 9 years of age,4,89,73,91 coherent with mature mental imagery skills.73,92”
From Spotlight on dream recall: the ages of dreams (2018) · cites this paper as [4]
The CHILDREN'S DREAMS section (pp. 2–3) describes a stage-like emergence of adult dream properties and reports relatively simple narratives and little active self-participation until age 8. It does not establish that dream experience is fully developed or adult-like from age 9; its conclusion about reaching a mature form is qualified. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
No correlation with language development measures was found in Foulkes' study of dream recall in children.
“More interestingly, while no correlation with language development measures was found,2–4 the best predictor of dream recall was the Block Design Test”
From Spotlight on dream recall: the ages of dreams (2018) · cites this paper as [4]
Empirical evidence favors a correlation between mental imagery and sleep mentation in children.
“Due to these findings, the study of dream recall rates in children moved from a language-emotional level to an assessment of executive functions, with empirical evidence in favor of a correlation between mental imagery and sleep mentation.4–6,69”
From Spotlight on dream recall: the ages of dreams (2018) · cites this paper as [4]
In contrast with Foulkes' study, no correlation between visuospatial abilities (measured through the Block Design Subset - WISC-IV) and the number of recalled dreams has been found, even when a possible moderating effect of age was controlled.
“In contrast with Foulkes’ study,2–4 no correlation between visuospatial abilities (measured through the Block Design Subset – WISC-IV)76,77 and the number of recalled dreams has been found, even when a possible moderating effect of age was controlled.”
From Spotlight on dream recall: the ages of dreams (2018) · cites this paper as [4]
Children start at 4 years of age to discern dream from reality and reach a complete comprehension of this difference at the age of 9 years, when cognitive abilities are adequately matured.
“Some empirical evidence showed that children start at 4 years of age to discern dream from reality and reach a complete comprehension of this difference at the age of 9 years, when cognitive abilities are adequately matured.4,69,73,89,90”
From Spotlight on dream recall: the ages of dreams (2018) · cites this paper as [4]
The CHILDREN'S DREAMS section (pp. 2–3) discusses how children's dream reports and dreaming develop with visuospatial and other cognitive skills. It does not address when children begin distinguishing dreams from reality or whether they fully understand that distinction by age nine; searches for those concepts found no supporting passage. (LLM, conf=0.75)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredVery few studies directly looked for a relationship between dream content and cognitive skills.
“very few studies directly looked for a relationship between dream content and cognitive skills.1,2,4,6,7,114–116”
From Spotlight on dream recall: the ages of dreams (2018) · cites this paper as [4]
The CHILDREN'S DREAMS section (pp. 2–3) describes studies that compared children's dream reports with cognitive-skill tests. It does not say that very few studies have directly examined the relationship, and the passages retrieved for research scarcity do not establish how many such studies exist overall. (LLM, conf=0.72)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe age definition of the ability to discern a dream from reality is still controversial.
“Interestingly, another issue in facing dream research in infancy is the achievement of the ability to discern a dream from reality, whose age definition is still controversial.4,69,73,89,90”
From Spotlight on dream recall: the ages of dreams (2018) · cites this paper as [4]
The CHILDREN'S DREAMS section (pp. 2–3) discusses when children develop mature dream content and the cognitive prerequisites for dreaming. It does not address the age at which children can distinguish dreams from reality or say that this age is controversial; searches for dream–reality discrimination found no relevant passage. (LLM, conf=0.74)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Dream reports from different stages of sleep
Foulkes, W. D. (1962) · The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0040431 · Cited by 563 · see citing works
REM and NREM sleep reports: comparison of word frequencies by cognitive classes
Antrobus, J. (1983) · Psychophysiology · doi:10.1111/j.1469-8986.1983.tb03015.x · Cited by 215 · see citing works
V. Reports of Mental Activity during Sleep
Rechtschaffen, A., Verdone, P., & Wheaton, J. (1963) · Canadian Psychiatric Association Journal · doi:10.1177/070674376300800612 · Cited by 123 · see citing works
Individual Differences in Memory for Dreams: The Role of Cognitive Skills
Butler, S. F., & Watson, R. (1985) · Perceptual and Motor Skills · doi:10.2466/pms.1985.61.3.823 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 7
- Aserinsky, E. and Kleitman, N. Regularly occurring periods of eye motility, and concomitant phenomena, during sleep. Science, 1953, 118: 273–274.
- Foulkes, D. 1982 Children's Dreams: Longitudinal studies., Wiley-Interscience. New York.
- Foulkes, D. Dreaming and consciousness. E. J. Cog. Psychol., 1990, 2: 39–55.
- Foulkes, D., Hollifield, M., Sullivan, B., Bradley, L. and Terry, R. REM dreaming and cognitive skill at ages 5-8: A cross-sectional study. Int. J. Behav. Dev., 1990, 13: 447–465.
- Foulkes, D. and Schmidt, M. Temporal sequence and unit composition in dream reports from different stages of sleep. Sleep, 1983, 6: 265–280.
- Horne, J. A. Mammalian sleep function with particular reference to man. In: A. Mayes (Ed.) Sleep Mechanisms and Functions in Humans and Animals—an Evolutionary Perspective, Van Nostrand Reinhold, Wokingham, UK, 1983: 262–312.
- Nielsen, T. A. One century of dream research. Newsl. Ass. Study of Dreams, 1985, 2(3): 1–3.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
The reinterpretation of dreams: An evolutionary hypothesis of the function of dreaming
Revonsuo, A. (2000) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x00004015 · Cited by 676 · see citing works
Sleep in psychiatric disorders
Benca, R. M. (1996) · Neurologic Clinics · doi:10.1016/s0733-8619(05)70283-8 · Cited by 139 · see citing works
Cortical activation patterns herald successful dream recall after NREM and REM sleep
Chellappa, S. L., Frey, S., Knoblauch, V., & Cajochen, C. (2011) · Biological Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2011.03.004 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Takeuchi, T., Ogilvie, R. D., Murphy, T. I., & Ferrelli, A. V. (2003) · Clinical Neurophysiology · doi:10.1016/s1388-2457(02)00385-1 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
REM mentation in narcoleptics and normals: an empirical test of two neurocognitive theories
Fosse, R. (2000) · Consciousness and Cognition · doi:10.1006/ccog.2000.0466 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Recovery sleep after sleep deprivation almost completely abolishes dream recall
De Gennaro, L., Marzano, C., Moroni, F., Curcio, G., Ferrara, M., & Cipolli, C. (2010) · Behavioural Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2009.09.030 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Mental Sleep Activity and Disturbing Dreams in the Lifespan
Scarpelli, S., Bartolacci, C., D’Atri, A., Gorgoni, M., & De Gennaro, L. (2019) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph16193658 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
“…bracket, such as (a) the presence of infantile amnesia before 3-4 years of age [64,68]; and (b) the di ffi culty in collecting reliable dream reports from children because of their inability to discern dreaming from reality (the period in which this skill is acquired is yet to be defined) [66,68,69].”
InfluentialSpotlight on dream recall: the ages of dreams
Mangiaruga, A., Scarpelli, S., Bartolacci, C., & De Gennaro, L. (2018) · Nature and Science of Sleep · doi:10.2147/nss.s135762 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
“the dream, with higher emotional content, active participation, and narrative structure, in dreams overall more frequent and longer.(4,73,89,91) Considering these incongruences and the difficulty to bring together the few findings about dream production in children, we can only claim for further investigations about n…”
BackgroundResultInfluentialDoes the Circadian Modulation of Dream Recall Modify with Age?
Laxhmi, C. S., Münch, M., Blatter, K., Knoblauch, V., & Cajochen, C. (2009) · SLEEP · doi:10.1093/sleep/32.9.1201 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
What are the neural mechanisms and physiological functions of dreams?
Tsunematsu, T. (2023) · Neuroscience Research · doi:10.1016/j.neures.2022.12.017 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Ultradian and circadian modulation of dream recall: EEG correlates and age effects
Chellappa, S. L., & Cajochen, C. (2013) · International Journal of Psychophysiology · doi:10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2013.03.006 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
- Authors
- FOULKES, D.
- Corresponding author
- FOULKES, DAVID
- Venue
- Journal of Sleep Research
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 1993-12
- Volume
- 2
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 199-202
- ISSN
- 0962-1105 (ISSN-L)
- 1365-2869
- OpenAlex
- W1986532362
- Cited by
- 45
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2024: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 2 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 0.40
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Sleep Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Sleep and Wakefulness Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Philosophy and Theoretical Science
- Keywords
- REM sleep, dreams, dream experience, idea generation, volition, external stimulation, sleep physiology, philosophy of mind
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
