Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 10, 2026

Assessment and Communication for People with Disorders of Consciousness
Published on: August 1, 2017
State-dependent thinking: a comparison of waking and dreaming thought
1Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA. david_kahn@hms.harvard.edu
Abstract:
Thinking is known to be state dependent but a systematic study of how thinking in dreams differs from thinking while awake has not been done. The study consisted of analyzing the dream reports of 26 subjects who, in addition to providing dream reports also provided answers to questions about their thinking within the dream. Our hypothesis was that thinking in dreams is not monolithic but has two distinct components, one that is similar to wake-state cognition, and another that is fundamentally different. We found that cognition within a dream scenario was similar to that of wake-state cognition, but that thinking about the scenario itself was deficient and very different than wake-state thinking.
Related Concept Videos
Understanding Consciousness
Sleep, a crucial state, is characterized by reduced physical...
High-Level and Low-Level Awareness
Subconsciousness and No Awareness
An illustrative example of subconscious processing is its role in problem-solving. Often, individuals...
Stages of Sleep
Before sleep begins, in wakefulness, the brain exhibits primarily beta waves, which are high in frequency and low in amplitude, indicating alertness...
Dreaming
Lucid Dreaming
Studies have shown...

