Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 11, 2025

Dynamic Quantitative Sensory Testing to Characterize Central Pain Processing
Published on: February 16, 2017
Nightmares, interoceptive sensibility and nociception: An exploratory study in a general population
Julie Faccini1, Vrutti Joshi1, Jonathan Del-Monte1
1University of Nîmes, LPS Laboratory, Aix-Marseille University, France.
Objective:
Nightmares are dysphoric dreams present in both clinical and non-clinical populations. Physiological activity underlies their emotional reactivity. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the role of interoceptive processes (interoceptive sensibility and nociception) in nightmares in the general population.
Method:
542 French participants were recruited from the general population to complete an online survey. Interoceptive sensibility, nociception, nightmare frequency and nightmare distress were assessed through online scales and questionnaires. Network analysis, regression and mediation analyses were conducted to assess the relationship between these variables.
Results:
The results showed the existence of associations between certain dimensions of interoceptive sensibility, nociception, nightmare frequency and nightmare distress. The regression analysis highlighted the involvement of interoceptive dimensions in predicting the nightmare distress score. Mediation analysis highlighted that nociception was a mediating variable in the relationship between nightmare frequency and nightmare distress.
Conclusion:
This study provides initial evidence in favour of the involvement of interoceptive processes in the understanding of nightmares. These results offer a new window of understanding the etiology of nightmares but also present the interest to target interoceptive processes in the management of nightmares.
Related Concept Videos
Nightmares and Night Terrors
Nightmares...
Nociception
Sensory Functions of the Skin
There are two main categories of receptors on the skin: capsulated and non-capsulated. The non-capsulated ones are mainly the pain receptors. The capsulated ones can be further categorized based on the...
Introduction to Special Senses
Thermosensation
Pain

