Infrequent dream recall associated with low performance but high overnight improvement on mirror‐tracing
Abstract
Although sleep facilitates learning and memory, the roles of dreaming and habitual levels of recalling dreams remain unknown. This study examined if performance and overnight improvement on a rapid eye movement sleep-sensitive visuomotor task is associated differentially with habitually high or low dream recall frequency. As a relation between dream production and visuospatial skills has been demonstrated previously, one possibility is that frequency of dream recall will be linked to performance on visuomotor tasks such as the Mirror Tracing Task. We expected that habitually low dream recallers would perform more poorly on the Mirror Tracing Task than would high recallers and would show less task improvement following a night of sleep. Fifteen low and 20 high dream recallers slept one night each in the laboratory and performed the Mirror Tracing Task before and after sleep. Low recallers had overall worse baseline performance but a greater evening-to-morning improvement than did high recallers. Greater improvements in completion time in low recallers were associated with Stage 2 rather than rapid eye movement sleep. Findings support the separate notions that dreaming is related to visuomotor processes and that different levels of visuomotor skill engage different sleep- and dream-related consolidation mechanisms.
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Low recallers reported worst performance at the baseline in the mirror tracing task compared to high recallers.
“Coherently with the expectations, the low recallers reported worst performance at the baseline in this task compared to high recallers.”
From Spotlight on dream recall: the ages of dreams (2018) · cites this paper as [115]
All these results are consistent with Foulkes' findings, suggesting a relationship between cognitive performance, particularly visuospatial abilities, and dreaming.
“All these results are consistent with the previously mentioned findings of Foulkes,2,4 suggesting, again, a relationship between cognitive performance, particularly visuospatial abilities, and dreaming.1,114–116”
From Spotlight on dream recall: the ages of dreams (2018) · cites this paper as [115]
Very 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 [115]
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Dumel, G., Carr, M., Marquis, L., Blanchette‐Carrière, C., Paquette, T., & Nielsen, T.
- Affiliations
- Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal (CA)
- Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine Hôpital du Sacré‐Coeur de Montréal Montreal QC Canada
- Venue
- Journal of Sleep Research
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2015-03-02
- Volume
- 24
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 372-382
- ISSN
- 0962-1105 (ISSN-L)
- 1365-2869
- OpenAlex
- W2028897182
- Cited by
- 20
- References
- 14
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 3
- FWCI
- 1.81
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Sleep Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada grant
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Sleep and Wakefulness Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Keywords
- dream recall frequency, mirror tracing, visuomotor learning, REM sleep, stage 2 sleep, visuomotor skills, sleep-dependent learning
- MeSH terms
- Memory Consolidation, Adult, Dreams, Female, Humans, Male, Psychomotor Performance, Reaction Time, Mental Recall, Sleep, Sleep, REM, Young Adult
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