Lucid, Prelucid, and Nonlucid Dreams Related to the Amount of EEG Alpha Activity during REM Sleep

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Abstract
Alpha activity during REM sleep without signs of awakening can discriminate between the blind classification of prelucid, lucid, and nonlucid dreams. Ten good dream recallers were aroused after relatively high or low amplitude REM alpha. The spectral and temporal characteristics of EEG alpha within each REM period were associated with lucidity and other content dimensions. Each type of dream had a reasonably distinct pattern of REM alpha. High amplitude alpha was found to be associated with prelucid dreams and bizarre content, which is consistent with theories of waking alpha activity and the hypothesis that lucidity sometimes emerges from prelucid experiences. The data are also consistent with the idea that lucidity is a viable dream content dimension, and interpreted in terms of systems theory imply that training which emphasizes dream content control may constrain the potential information integration function of lucid dreams.