Temporal references in dreams and autobiographical memory.
Open accessAbstract
In an attempt to determine whether temporal references identified in dreams follow the same temporal distributions as those documented for autobiographical memories, 28 younger women (18-35 years of age) and 30 older women (60-77 years of age) kept a home dream diary for 1 week and then slept 1 night in the laboratory for rapid eye movement sleep dream collection. The following morning, they identified temporal references in their dreams and produced a sample of autobiographical memories using the semantic cuing method. For both groups, there was a linear decrease in temporal references identified in dreams and autobiographical memories with increased remoteness for the last 30 years. As predicted, for the older group, there were similar cubic trends reflecting a disproportionately higher number of both temporal references identified in dreams and autobiographical memories from adolescence/early adulthood compared with adulthood and childhood. The results support the notion of continuity between waking and dreaming memory processes.
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.
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
An inventory for measuring depression
BECK, A. T. (1961) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1961.01710120031004 · Cited by 38,032 · see citing works
Erikson, E. H. (2026) · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · doi:10.5281/zenodo.18614668 · Cited by 13,081 · see citing works
Rechtschaffen, A. (1968) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 11,772 · see citing works
Wolpert, E. (1969) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1969.01740140118016 · Cited by 9,814 · see citing works
Selective Cortical Undercutting As a Means of Modifying and Studying Frontal Lobe Function in Man
Scoville, W. B. (1949) · Journal of neurosurgery · doi:10.3171/jns.1949.6.1.0065 · Cited by 7,373 · see citing works
Concreteness, imagery, and meaningfulness values for 925 nouns.
Paivio, A., Yuille, J. C., & Madigan, S. A. (1968) · Journal of Experimental Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0025327 · Cited by 2,855 · see citing works
The Life Review: An Interpretation of Reminiscence in the Aged
Butler, R. N. (1963) · Psychiatry · doi:10.1080/00332747.1963.11023339 · Cited by 1,919 · see citing works
Things learned in early adulthood are remembered best
Rubin, D. C., Rahhal, T. A., & Poon, L. W. (1998) · Memory & Cognition · doi:10.3758/bf03211366 · Cited by 452 · see citing works
Autobiographical memory across the lifespan
Rubin, D. C., Wetzler, S. E., & Nebes, R. D. (1986) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511558313.018 · Cited by 425 · see citing works
(1998) · PsycEXTRA Dataset · doi:10.1037/e538242004-001 · Cited by 404 · see citing works
(1985) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 369 · see citing works
Forgetting in recognition memory with and without recollective experience
Gardiner, J. M., & Java, R. I. (1991) · Memory & Cognition · doi:10.3758/bf03197157 · Cited by 287 · see citing works
On the retention function for autobiographical memory
Rubin, D. C. (1982) · Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior · doi:10.1016/s0022-5371(82)90423-6 · Cited by 280 · see citing works
Vivid Memories and the Reminiscence Phenomenon: The Role of a Self Narrative
Fitzgerald, J. M. (2010) · Human Development · doi:10.1159/000275814 · Cited by 249 · see citing works
Recall of remote episodic memory in amnesia
Zola-Morgan, S. M., Cohen, N. J., & Squire, L. R. (1983) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/0028-3932(83)90005-2 · Cited by 166 · see citing works
Autobiographical Memory Across the Life-span
Fitzgerald, J. M., & Lawrence, R. H. (1984) · Journal of Gerontology · doi:10.1093/geronj/39.6.692 · Cited by 109 · see citing works
Temporal Reference of Manifest Dream Content
Verdone, P. (1965) · Perceptual and Motor Skills · doi:10.2466/pms.1965.20.3c.1253 · Cited by 99 · see citing works
Do Long Tests Yield a More Accurate Diagnosis of Dementia Than Short Tests?
Stuss, D. T. (1996) · Archives of Neurology · doi:10.1001/archneur.1996.00550100119021 · Cited by 94 · see citing works
Nielsen, T. A., & Powell, R. A. (1992) · Dreaming · doi:10.1037/h0094348 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
Age changes in dream recall in adulthood.
Giambra, L. M., Jung, R. E., & Grodsky, A. (1996) · Dreaming · doi:10.1037/h0094443 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Benchmark Memories in Adulthood: Central Domains and Predictors of Their Frequency
Elnick, A. B., Margrett, J. A., Fitzgerald, J. M., & Labouvie‐Vief, G. (1999) · Journal of Adult Development · doi:10.1023/a:1021624324994 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Personal Memories at Different Ages
Franklin, H. C., & Holding, D. H. (1977) · Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology · doi:10.1080/14640747708400628 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
The Scientific Study of Dreams
Domhoff, G. W. (2002) · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Cavallero, C., & Foulkes, W. D. (1993) · ArTS Archivio della ricerca di Trieste (University of Trieste https://www.units.it/) · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Autobiographical memory in the aged.
McCormack, P. D. (1979) · Canadian Journal of Psychology/Revue Canadienne de Psychologie · doi:10.1037/h0081705 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Dream Reports and Autobiographical Memory
Botman, H. I., & Crovitz, H. F. (1990) · Imagination Cognition and Personality · doi:10.2190/fl4h-tlhv-r5dv-0wdm · Cited by 29 · see citing works
The waking event-dream interval
Epstein, A. W. (1985) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/ajp.142.1.123 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Crovitz, H. F., & Harvey, M. T. (1979) · Cortex · doi:10.1016/s0010-9452(79)80037-4 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
An empirical investigation into the day-residue and dream-lag effects.
Marquardt, C., Bonato, R. A., & Hoffmann, R. F. (1996) · Dreaming · doi:10.1037/h0094446 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Crovitz, H. F., Harvey, M. T., & McKee, D. C. (1980) · Cortex · doi:10.1016/s0010-9452(80)80066-9 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
[Memories and "split brain" during dream. 2525 memories of dream].
Jouvet, M. (1979) · PubMed · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Incorporation of Recent Events in Dreams
Davidson, J., & Kelsey, B. D. (1987) · Perceptual and Motor Skills · doi:10.2466/pms.1987.65.1.114 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
2 of the 34 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Klinger, E. (1971). The structure and function of fantasy. New York: Wiley.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Levin, R., & Nielsen, T. A. (2007) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.133.3.482 · Cited by 554 · see citing works
Dreaming as mind wandering: evidence from functional neuroimaging and first-person content reports
Fox, K. C. R., Nijeboer, S., Solomonova, E., Domhoff, G. W., & Christoff, K. (2013) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2013.00412 · Cited by 289 · see citing works
Self-centered memories: The reminiscence bump and the self
Rathbone, C. J., Moulin, C. J. A., & Conway, M. A. (2008) · Memory & Cognition · doi:10.3758/mc.36.8.1403 · Cited by 210 · see citing works
What are the memory sources of dreaming?
Nielsen, T. A., & Stenstrom, P. (2005) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature04288 · Cited by 208 · see citing works
Koppel, J., & Berntsen, D. (2014) · Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.jarmac.2014.11.004 · Cited by 139 · see citing works
The Dream as a Model for Psychosis: An Experimental Approach Using Bizarreness as a Cognitive Marker
Scarone, S., Manzone, M. L., Gambini, O., Kantzas, I., Limosani, I., D’Agostino, A., & Hobson, J. A. (2007) · Schizophrenia Bulletin · doi:10.1093/schbul/sbm116 · Cited by 118 · see citing works
Memory, sleep, and dreaming: experiencing consolidation
Wamsley, E. J., & Stickgold, R. (2011) · Sleep Medicine Clinics · doi:10.1016/j.jsmc.2010.12.008 · Cited by 115 · see citing works
“On a broader timescale, it seems that recent life events are most likely to appear in dream content, relative to more remote experiences from years past.(63,64) Several studies also suggest that waking experiences tend to be incorporated into dream mentation either immediately after the experience, or else about a wee…”
BackgroundThe role of spontaneous thought in human cognition
Kalina Christoff, A., GORDON, A., & Smith, R. M. (2011) · Psychology Press eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780203835920-22 · Cited by 90 · see citing works
Horton, C. L., & Malinowski, J. E. (2015) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00874 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
Vallat, R., Chatard, B., Blagrove, M., & Ruby, P. (2017) · PLOS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0185262 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
Variations in Dream Recall Frequency and Dream Theme Diversity by Age and Sex
Nielsen, T. (2012) · Frontiers in Neurology · doi:10.3389/fneur.2012.00106 · Cited by 51 · 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
Vallat, R., Nicolas, A., & Ruby, P. (2020) · Sleep · doi:10.1093/sleep/zsaa116 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Ontogenetic patterns in the dreams of women across the lifespan
Dale, A., Lortie‐Lussier, M., & Koninck, J. D. (2015) · Consciousness and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.concog.2015.09.008 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Self-citationDream content of Canadian males from adolescence to old age: An exploration of ontogenetic patterns
Dale, A., Lafrenière, A., & Koninck, J. D. (2017) · Consciousness and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.concog.2017.01.008 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
REM dream activity of insomnia sufferers: a systematic comparison with good sleepers
Pérusse, A. D., Koninck, J. D., Pedneault-Drolet, M., Ellis, J. G., & Bastien, C. (2015) · Sleep Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2015.08.007 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Constructive episodic simulation in dreams
Wamsley, E. J. (2022) · PLOS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0264574 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
“Just as temporal proximity to the past may explain the well-known recency bias in dream memory sources [57], temporal proximity to impending future events of the following days may drive future sources to become relatively more common in dreams reported later in the night.”
BackgroundEdwards, C. L., Malinowski, J., Rohner, S. L., Bennett, P. D., Ruby, P. M., & Blagrove, M. (2015) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00831 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Cappeliez, P. (2007) · Self and Identity · doi:10.1080/15298860600934281 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Self-citationAutobiographical memory sources of threats in dreams
Lafrenière, A., Lortie‐Lussier, M., Dale, A., Robidoux, R., & Koninck, J. D. (2017) · Consciousness and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.concog.2017.10.017 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Self-citationSleep parameters improvement in PTSD soldiers after symptoms remission
Rousseau, P., Vallat, R., Coste, O., Cadis, H., Nicolas, F., Trousselard, M., Ruby, P. M., & Khalfa, S. (2021) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-021-88337-x · Cited by 15 · see citing works
The effect of time of night on wake–dream continuity.
Malinowski, J. E., & Horton, C. L. (2014) · Dreaming · doi:10.1037/a0037817 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
The Memory Experiences and Dreams Questionnaire (MED-Q): A Validated Measure of Dream Remembering
Horton, C. L., & Conway, M. (2009) · Imagination Cognition and Personality · doi:10.2190/ic.29.1.b · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Beaulieu‐Prévost, D., & Zadra, A. L. (2015) · Dreaming · doi:10.1037/a0038788 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Dale, A., Lortie‐Lussier, M., Wong, C., & Koninck, J. D. (2016) · Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology · doi:10.1177/0022022116655788 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Self-citationBarbeau, K., Turpin, C., Lafrenière, A., Campbell, E., & Koninck, J. D. (2022) · Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2022.947396 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
The self and dreams during a period of transition
Horton, C. L., Moulin, C. J. A., & Conway, M. (2009) · Consciousness and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.concog.2009.07.001 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Recall and recognition of dreams and waking events: A diary paradigm
Horton, C. L. (2011) · International journal of dream research · doi:10.11588/ijodr.2011.1.6176 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Properties of the organization of memory for people: Evidence from dream reports
Schweickert, R. (2007) · Psychonomic Bulletin & Review · doi:10.3758/bf03194063 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Psychosocial intervention and dreaming among war-affected Palestinian children.
Qouta, S. R., Peltonen, K., Diab, S. Y., Anttila, S., Palosaari, E., & Punamäki, R.-L. (2016) · Dreaming · doi:10.1037/drm0000025 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Incorporation of Waking Events into Dreams
Wamsley, E. J., & Stickgold, R. (2009) · The Neuroscience of Sleep · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-375073-0.50050-6 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Stucky, B. (2025) · Nature and Science of Sleep · doi:10.2147/nss.s506461 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Burnham, M. M., & Conte, C. (2010) · International review of neurobiology · doi:10.1016/s0074-7742(10)92003-5 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Ruby, P. M. (2013) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2013.00475 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Horton, C. L. (2011) · Dreaming · doi:10.1037/a0024860 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Autobiographical Memory, Self-Regulation, and Well-Being
Ferring, D., & Tournier, I. (2017) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-58763-9_15 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Fictional volunteered geographic information in Dream Cartography
Enescu, C. M. I., & Hurni, L. (2017) · International Journal of Cartography · doi:10.1080/23729333.2017.1301627 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Pérusse, A. D., Koninck, J. D., & Bastien, C. (2015) · International journal of dream research · doi:10.11588/ijodr.2015.1.17810 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Koninck, J. D., Forest, G., & Lortie‐Lussier, M. (2012) · Médecine du Sommeil · doi:10.1016/j.msom.2012.06.002 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Self-citationCorrelates of Dream Recall: Implications for Confabulation
Horton, C. L. (2014) · Imagination Cognition and Personality · doi:10.2190/ic.34.2.e · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Dream Behavior and Dream Content in Healthy Persons
Schredl, M. (2018) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-95453-0_4 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
The role of sleep and dreaming in the processing of episodic memory
Stenstrom, P. (2010) · doi:10.71781/18000 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Experimentally inducing dreams of remote emotional memory
Frost, C. C., & Wamsley, E. J. (2025) · SLEEP Advances · doi:10.1093/sleepadvances/zpaf054 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Dreaming and dreaming disorders in the elderly
KRAMER, M. L. (2009) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511770661.032 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Grand illusion. Role models in the dreams of physicians
Susánszky, É., & Szántó, Z. (2012) · Mentálhigiéné és Pszichoszomatika · doi:10.1556/mental.13.2012.2.3 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Bizarreness and Emotion Identification in Grete Stern Photomontages: Gender and Age Disparities
Rosales-Lagarde, A., Martínez-Alcalá, C. I., Pliego‐Pastrana, P., Molina-Trinidad, E. M., & Díaz, J.-L. (2017) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00414 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Dreams and Dreaming: Incorporation of Waking Events
Wamsley, E. J., & Stickgold, R. (2009) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-008045046-9.00046-2 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Content and frequency of dream reports : psychological and neurophysiological correlates
Vallat, R. (2017) · theses.fr (ABES) · doi:10.70675/7c390b38z9260z414bzbabdz2b316eacbb17 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
A commentary on Blagrove et al.’s dream-lag replication: Implications for memory sources
Horton, C. L. (2010) · Consciousness and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.concog.2010.10.016
The reminiscence bump in autobiographical memory: An investigation of the life script hypothesis
Dickson, R. A. (2010) · University of New Hampshire Scholars Repository (University of New Hampshire at Manchester)
Dream emotionality. Selected formal properties of dreams
Grzywacz, K. (2015) · Polish Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1515/ppb-2015-0047
Incorporation of Waking Experiences into Dreams
Schredl, M. (2016) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-323-24288-2.00054-4
Koninck, J. D. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197602751.013.5
- Authors
- Grenier, J., Cappeliez, P., St-Onge, M., Vachon, J., Vinette, S., Roussy, F., Mercier, P., Lortie-Lussier, M., & De Koninck, J.
- Affiliations
- University of Ottawa (CA)
- ORCID
- Grenier, Jean
- Venue
- Memory & Cognition
- Published
- 2005-03
- Volume
- 33
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 280-288
- ISSN
- 0090-502X (ISSN-L)
- 1532-5946
- OpenAlex
- W2083350856
- Cited by
- 57
- References
- 34
- Citations by year
- 2025: 4 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 1.32
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Memory & Cognition (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Sleep and Wakefulness Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Identity, Memory, and Therapy
- Keywords
- dreams, autobiographical memory, temporal reference, age differences, REM sleep, memory continuity
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aging, Autobiographies as Topic, Dreams, Female, Humans, Memory, Middle Aged, Time Perception
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