Khaberni - An international consortium of researchers has created the largest database in history, combining recordings of brain activity during sleep and detailed reports on dreams, in an unprecedented scientific step to unravel the mystery of the world of dreams.
The initial analyses of this massive database revealed that dreams are not confined to the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep phase as previously believed, but also occur during the deeper and quieter Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) sleep phase. More intriguingly, brain activity during these dreams resembles a state of wakefulness more than deep sleep, as if the brain is "partially awake".
It is noted that an adult spends a third of their life sleeping, dedicating a significant portion of this time to dreams, which can occur at any stage of sleep.
While dreams have long intrigued the general public, studying them holds significant scientific value, supporting diverse research fields including clinical issues (such as sleep disorders like sleepwalking), cognitive neuroscience (such as learning and memory), and fundamental problems (like the neural basis of consciousness).
Many studies exploring what happens in the human brain during dreaming have made significant progress in the scientific exploration of human consciousness. However, until now, there has been no comprehensive integration of data allowing for a broad analysis of the findings.
In this context, an international consortium of researchers, including Giulio Bernardi from the IMT School for Advanced Studies in Lucca, Italy, and supported by the "Bial" Portuguese foundation, created the DREAM database (an acronym for "Electroencephalography During Dreaming and Thinking"), the largest database combining recordings of brain activity during sleep and dream reports.
The DREAM database combines recordings of electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) along with dream reports from multiple centers, including more than 2600 awakenings from 505 participants across 20 different studies.
In the article published in Nature Communications, the researchers presented the DREAM database and its initial analyses, which revealed surprising findings: dreams are not exclusive to Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, which involves higher brain activity and rapid eye movements, but also occur during the deeper and quieter Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) phases.
Interestingly, when dreams occur during NREM sleep, the brain activity resembles a state of wakefulness more than deep sleep, as if the brain is "partially awake".
Furthermore, the researchers applied artificial intelligence algorithms to analyze brain activity patterns prior to each awakening. Using these data, they were able to predict whether a person was dreaming at that moment, with consistent results. This innovative method could in the future allow for more precise determination not only of the timing of a dream but also of the type of experience we undergo during sleep.
