Motor learning in lucid dreams – quantitative and qualitative investigations

In sports practice a well-established method is mental practice which is, for example, applied in elite sports to intensify practice and to offer additional practice sessions when opportunities for physical practice are limited (Erlacher, 2007). It is also used on other areas, such as surgery and music. There is a special way of mentally rehearsing movements without physical activity: in our dreams (Stumbrys, 2014). In so called lucid dreams, the dreamer is consciously aware that he or she is dreaming and can thus decide to carry out actions deliberately (Schredl & Erlacher, 2004). In a survey by Erlacher, Stumbrys, and Schredl (2011–2012) it was shown that within a German sample 9% of all athletes who had lucid dreams used the lucid dream state to practice motor skills, for most of them with a positive impact on physical performance. Furthermore, anecdotal examples and previous qualitative and quantitative research has demonstrated that practicing movements in lucid dreams is possible and could possibly even improve performance in waking life for (overview see e.g. Stumbrys, 2014). However, the effectiveness of lucid dream practice had not yet been studies in a controlled sleep laboratory setting. The aim of this investigation was to further explore the effectiveness of lucid dream practice, and to derive practical implications for athletes. A particular goal was to assess the effectiveness of lucid dream practice using signal verified lucid dreams in a sleep laboratory. Furthermore, an extensive qualitative interview study was intended to explore the potential as well as phenomenal experience and difficulties of lucid dream practice. A similar study was planned for musicians to investigate if lucid dream practice can also be applied in this area. Since a requirement for lucid dream practice is to actually achieve lucidity in the dream state, another goal of this investigation was to test two ways of lucid dream induction by external stimulation. The first chapter of this dissertation gives an introduction into mental practice, including evidence that mental practice can improve physical performance in sport and other areas, such as music education. The second chapter first provides some information on sleep and dreams, followed by characteristics and applications of lucid dreams. Chapter three addresses lucid dream induction. The attached book chapter includes a detailed description and evaluation of induction techniques and discusses research problems. Then a study on lucid dream induction through visual and tactile stimulation is presented (Paper 1). Chapter four contains the most important contributions of this investigation: After introducing lucid dream practice, a sleep laboratory study is outlined which investigated the effectiveness of lucid dream practice using a dart throwing task (Paper 2). Then an extensive qualitative study is presented in which 16 athletes were interviewed about their experiences with lucid dream practice (Paper 3), followed by a smaller pilot study in which the potential of lucid dream practice for musicians was explored (Paper 4). Finally, in the last chapter the findings of all studies are summarized and discussed, deriving implications for both sports practice and future research

Lucid music – A pilot study exploring the experiences and potential of music-making in lucid dreams

In a lucid dream, the dreamer knows that he or she is dreaming and can thus deliberately carry out actions. The original goal of this study was to investigate musical practice in lucid dreams and its possible effects as well as the quality of the experiences. A total of 5 musicians were interviewed about their lucid dreams in which they had played instruments and sung. However, the interviewees were more interested in pleasure and inspiration than in actual practice and skill improvement. Therefore, the results provide more general information than planned. It could be shown that singing and playing musical instruments mostly work well in lucid dreams. Lucid music dreams were often accompanied by positive emotions and led to several positive effects in waking life, like facilitated guitar playing and enhanced confidence. Two interviewees especially enjoyed improvising solo in lucid dreams. The participants also emphasized the creative and inspirational potential of lucid music dreams, which is worth further investigation. Combining previous research on athletic practice in lucid dreams and the clues obtained from this study, it is likely that musicians could use lucid dreams to improve their skills. Future studies should further explore the potential of lucid music dreams for both creativity and perfor- mance in waking life

Applications of lucid dreams: An online study

In a lucid dream the dreamer is aware of the dream state and can influence the dream content and events. The goal of this study was to investigate some applications of lucid dreaming. Our survey included 301 lucid dreamers who filled out an online questionnaire. The most frequent  application (81.4%) was having fun, followed by changing a bad dream or nightmare into a pleasant one (63.8%), solving problems (29.9%), getting creative ideas or insights (27.6%) and practicing skills (21.3%). Women used lucid dreams significantly more often than men for both work on nightmares and problem solving. Our results show that lucid dreams have a great potential for improving one’s life in different ways. More research is needed to illuminate the possibilities of lucid dreaming, especially in the fields of nightmare treatment and practicing motor skills

Effects of task modality, length and complexity on time for activities in lucid dreams

Introduction: Nocturnal dreams can be considered as a kind of simulation of the real world on a higher cognitive level (Erlacher & Schredl, 2008). Within lucid dreams, the dreamer is aware of the dream state and thus able to control the ongoing dream content. Previous studies could demonstrate that it is possible to practice motor tasks during lucid dreams and doing so improved performance while awake (Erlacher & Schredl, 2010). Even though lucid dream practice might be a promising kind of cognitive rehearsal in sports, little is known about the characteristics of actions in lucid dreams. The purpose of the present study was to explore the relationship between time in dreams and wakefulness because in an earlier study (Erlacher & Schredl, 2004) we found that performing squads took lucid dreamers 44.5 % more time than in the waking state while for counting the same participants showed no differences between dreaming and wakefulness. To find out if the task modality, the task length or the task complexity require longer times in lucid dreams than in wakefulness three experiments were conducted. Methods: In the first experiment five proficient lucid dreamers spent two to three non-consecutive nights in the sleep laboratory with polysomnographic recording to control for REM sleep and determine eye signals. Participants counted from 1-10, 1-20 and 1-30 in wakefulness and in their lucid dreams. While dreaming they marked onset of lucidity as well as beginning and end of the counting task with a Left-Right-Left-Right eye movement and reported their dreams after being awakened. The same procedure was used for the second experiment with seven lucid dreamers except that they had to walk 10, 20 or 30 steps. In the third experiment nine participants performed an exercise involving gymnastics elements such as various jumps and a roll. To control for length of the task the gymnastic exercise in the waking state lasted about the same time as walking 10 steps. Results: As a general result we found – as in the study before – that performing a task in the lucid dream requires more time than in wakefulness. This tendency was found for all three tasks. However, there was no difference for the task modality (counting vs. motor task). Also the relative time for the different lengths of the tasks showed no difference. And finally, the more complex motor task (gymnastic routine) did not require more time in lucid dreams than the simple motor task. Discussion/Conclusion: The results showed that there is a robust effect of time in lucid dreams compared to wakefulness. The three experiments could not explain that those differences are caused by task modality, task length or task complexity. Therefore further possible candidates needs to be investigated e.g. experience in lucid dreaming or psychological variables. References: Erlacher, D. & Schredl, M. (2010). Practicing a motor task in a lucid dream enhances subsequent performance: A pilot study. The Sport Psychologist, 24(2), 157-167. Erlacher, D. & Schredl, M. (2008). Do REM (lucid) dreamed and executed actions share the same neural substrate? International Journal of Dream Research, 1(1), 7-13. Erlacher, D. & Schredl, M. (2004). Time required for motor activity in lucid dreams. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 99, 1239-1242

Time for actions in lucid dreams: effects of task modality, length, and complexity

The relationship between time in dreams and real time has intrigued scientists for centuries. The question if actions in dreams take the same time as in wakefulness can be tested by using lucid dreams where the dreamer is able to mark time intervals with prearranged eye movements that can be objectively identified in EOG recordings. Previous research showed an equivalence of time for counting in lucid dreams and in wakefulness (LaBerge, 1985; Erlacher and Schredl, 2004), but Erlacher and Schredl (2004) found that performing squats required about 40% more time in lucid dreams than in the waking state. To find out if the task modality, the task length, or the task complexity results in prolonged times in lucid dreams, an experiment with three different conditions was conducted. In the first condition, five proficient lucid dreamers spent one to three non-consecutive nights in the sleep laboratory. Participants counted to 10, 20, and 30 in wakefulness and in their lucid dreams. Lucidity and task intervals were time stamped with left-right-left-right eye movements. The same procedure was used for these condition where eight lucid dreamers had to walk 10, 20, or 30 steps. In the third condition, eight lucid dreamers performed a gymnastics routine, which in the waking state lasted the same time as walking 10 steps. Again, we found that performing a motor task in a lucid dream requires more time than in wakefulness. Longer durations in the dream state were present for all three tasks, but significant differences were found only for the tasks with motor activity (walking and gymnastics). However, no difference was found for relative times (no disproportional time effects) and a more complex motor task did not result in more prolonged times. Longer durations in lucid dreams might be related to the lack of muscular feedback or slower neural processing during REM sleep. Future studies should explore factors that might be associated with prolonged durations

SNUPN deficiency causes a recessive muscular dystrophy due to RNA mis-splicing and ECM dysregulation

SNURPORTIN-1, encoded by SNUPN, plays a central role in the nuclear import of spliceosomal small nuclear ribonucleoproteins. However, its physiological function remains unexplored. In this study, we investigate 18 children from 15 unrelated families who present with atypical muscular dystrophy and neurological defects. Nine hypomorphic SNUPN biallelic variants, predominantly clustered in the last coding exon, are ascertained to segregate with the disease. We demonstrate that mutant SPN1 failed to oligomerize leading to cytoplasmic aggregation in patients' primary fibroblasts and CRISPR/Cas9-mediated mutant cell lines. Additionally, mutant nuclei exhibit defective spliceosomal maturation and breakdown of Cajal bodies. Transcriptome analyses reveal splicing and mRNA expression dysregulation, particularly in sarcolemmal components, causing disruption of cytoskeletal organization in mutant cells and patient muscle tissues. Our findings establish SNUPN deficiency as the genetic etiology of a previously unrecognized subtype of muscular dystrophy and provide robust evidence of the role of SPN1 for muscle homeostasis