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Review
. 2025 Apr;34(2):e14338.
doi: 10.1111/jsr.14338. Epub 2024 Oct 3.

Dreaming conundrum

Carlotta Mutti  1   2 , Francesca Siclari  3   4   5 , Ivana Rosenzweig  6   7
Affiliations
Review

Dreaming conundrum

Carlotta Mutti et al. J Sleep Res. 2025 Apr.

Abstract

Dreaming, a common yet mysterious cognitive phenomenon, is an involuntary process experienced by individuals during sleep. Although the fascination with dreams dates back to ancient times and gained therapeutic significance through psychoanalysis in the early twentieth century, its scientific investigation only gained momentum with the discovery of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep in the 1950s. This review synthesises current research on the neurobiological and psychological aspects of dreaming, including factors influencing dream recall and content, neurophysiological correlates, and experimental models, and discusses the implications for clinical practice.

Keywords: REM; dreams; oneiric activities; sleep; sleepdream mentation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Illustration of a selected oneiric mentation “Forest hide and seek” by Dr Alexander Nesbitt.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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