Ricerc@Sapienza

Objective Narcolepsy type 1 widely affects the architecture of sleep with frequent fast transition to REM sleep at both nighttime and daytime sleep onset. The occurrence of repeated sleep onset REM periods over the Multiple Sleep Latency Test offers a unique opportunity to identify EEG patterns predictive of successful dream recall after short periods composed of only REM or NREM sleep. It also permits to disentangle state- from trait-like differences in dream recall, by using a within-subjects design.

SUMMARY: Sleep talking is one of the most common altered nocturnal behaviours in the whole population. It does not represent a pathological condition and consists in the unaware production of vocalisations during sleep. Although in the last few decades we have experienced a remarkable increase in knowledge about cognitive processes and behavioural manifestations during sleep, the literature regarding sleep talking remains dated and fragmentary.

Dreaming is a subjective experience created during sleep and accessible for recollection after awakening. Experimental studies, developed after the discovery of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, indicate that, contrary to popular opinion, dreaming occurs, albeit with some quantitative and qualitative differences, during all stages and cycles of sleep. By monitoring sleep stages using electropolygraphic techniques, a successful dream recall is obtained after about 80% of awakenings from REM sleep and about 50% after NREM sleep in healthy subjects.

Sleep significantly changes across the lifespan, and several studies underline its crucial role in cognitive functioning. Similarly, mental activity during sleep tends to covary with age. This review aims to analyze the characteristics of dreaming and disturbing dreams at dierent age brackets. On the one hand, dreams may be considered an expression of brain maturation and cognitive development, showing relations with memory and visuo-spatial abilities.

Dream experience (DE) represents a fascinating condition linked to emotional processes and the human inner world. Although the overlap between REM sleep and dreaming has been overcome, several studies point out that emotional and perceptually vivid contents are more frequent when reported upon awakenings from this sleep stage. Actually, it is well-known that REM sleep plays a pivotal role in the processing of salient and emotional waking-life experiences, strongly contributing to the emotional memory consolidation.

Several findings support the activation hypothesis, positing that cortical arousal promotes
dream recall (DR). However, most studies have been carried out on young participants, while the
electrophysiological (EEG) correlates of DR in older people are still mostly unknown. We aimed to
test the activation hypothesis on 20 elders, focusing on the Non‐Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) sleep
stage. All the subjects underwent polysomnography, and a dream report was collected upon their