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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 28, 2026

An Experiment Using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy and Robot-Assisted Multi-Joint Pointing Movements of the Lower Limb

An Experiment Using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy and Robot-Assisted Multi-Joint Pointing Movements of the Lower Limb

Published on: June 7, 2024

Dreamed movement elicits activation in the sensorimotor cortex.

Martin Dresler¹, Stefan P Koch, Renate Wehrle

¹Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Kraepelinstrasse 2-10, 80804 Munich, Germany.

Current Biology : CB

|November 1, 2011

Summary

Researchers visualized dream content during lucid REM sleep using brain imaging. This study links specific dreamed motor actions to sensorimotor cortex activation, offering a new way to study dreams.

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Last Updated: May 28, 2026

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Corticospinal Excitability Modulation During Action Observation

Corticospinal Excitability Modulation During Action Observation

Published on: December 31, 2013

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Sleep Science
Cognitive Science

Background:

The link between rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and dreaming is well-established.
Directly visualizing dream content using neuroimaging has been limited by the inability to control dream activity.
Lucid dreaming offers a unique state where dreamers are aware and can perform intentional actions during REM sleep.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if specific dream contents can be visualized using neuroimaging techniques.
To establish a link between dreamed motor actions and corresponding brain activity during lucid REM sleep.

Main Methods:

Combined polysomnography (PSG) with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS).
Utilized lucid dreaming to enable subjects to perform predefined motor tasks (hand movements) during REM sleep.
Used eye signals as temporal markers to correlate brain activity with dreamed movements.

Main Results:

Demonstrated neuronal activation in the sensorimotor cortex corresponding to dreamed hand movements during lucid REM sleep.
Provided preliminary evidence that specific dream contents can be visualized via neuroimaging.

Conclusions:

Lucid dreaming combined with neuroimaging can visualize specific dream contents.
This approach offers a novel method for studying the neural basis of dreaming.