Dormio: A targeted dream incubation device
Name
Horowitz et al_Consciousness_&_Cognition.pdf
Description
Accepted version
Size
849.01 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
00084ff92390f5252023568ef402bef2
Author(s)
Haar Horowitz, Adam
Cunningham, Tony J
Maes, Pattie
Stickgold, Robert
Date Issued
2020
Journal
Consciousness and Cognition
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
© 2020 Elsevier Inc. Information processing during sleep is active, ongoing and accessible to engineering. Protocols such as targeted memory reactivation use sensory stimuli during sleep to reactivate memories and demonstrate subsequent, specific enhancement of their consolidation. These protocols rely on physiological, as opposed to phenomenological, evidence of their reactivation. While dream content can predict post-sleep memory enhancement, dreaming itself remains a black box. Here, we present a novel protocol using a new wearable electronic device, Dormio, to automatically generate serial auditory dream incubations at sleep onset, wherein targeted information is repeatedly presented during the hypnagogic period, enabling direct incorporation of this information into dream content, a process we call targeted dream incubation (TDI). Along with validation data, we discuss how Dormio and TDI protocols can serve as tools for controlled experimentation on dream content, shedding light on the role of dreams in the overnight transformation of experiences into memories.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Media Laboratory
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2020.102938
