Browsing by Author "Nielsen, Tore A."
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Item The day-residue and dream-lag effects: a literature review and limited replication of two temporal effects in dream formation(1992) Nielsen, Tore A.; Powell, Russell A.Several studies point to the existence of two types of effects which describe the temporal relationship between daytime experiences and nighttime dreams: the day-residue effect, i.e., the incorporation into dreams of material from the immediately preceding day, and the dream-lag effect, i.e., the incorporation of material into dreams of material from 6–8 days prior. A review of previous· research suggests that the proportion of dreams containing day residues is about twice that for events occurring 2 days prior to the dream, approximately 65–70% of reports. Much less research supports the dream-lag effect, however. In an attempt to replicate previous demonstrations of these effects, 84 undergraduates were asked to keep home records of their dreams and important daily events for a 14-day period. Dreams were then judged for the extent to which they incorporated these daily events. Results clearly supported the day-residue effect, but gave inconclusive results for the dream-lag effect. At present, imprecision in report collection and other conservative features of the experimental design, as well as findings from previous studies, do not warrant complete rejection of the notion of a dream-lag effect.Item The 'dream-lag' effect: a 6-day temporal delay in dream content incorporation(1989) Nielsen, Tore A.; Powell, Russell A.Used 103 dream diaries collected in 2 experiments with psychology students/volunteers to examine whether dream incorporations of an important daytime event would occur after temporal delays of up to 7 days. Analysis showed a 6-day delay between event occurrence and dream incorporation. Variations in incorporation were found to follow a sinusoidal pattern. Results implicate dream incorporation in the learning consolidation functions of REM sleep.Item Dreams of the rarebit fiend: food and diet as instigators of bizarre and disturbing dreams(2015) Nielsen, Tore A.; Powell, Russell A.In the early 1900s, the Dream of the Rarebit Fiend comic strip conveyed how the spicy cheese dish Welsh rarebit leads to bizarre and disturbing dreams. Today, the perception that foods disturb dreaming persists. But apart from case studies, some exploratory surveys, and a few lab studies on how hunger affects dreaming, there is little empirical evidence addressing this topic. The present study examines three aspects of the food/dreaming relationship; it attempts to: (1) assess the prevalence of the perception of food-dependent dreaming and the types of foods most commonly blamed; (2) determine if perceived food-dependent dreaming is associated with dietary, sleep or motivational factors; and (3) explore whether these factors, independent of food/dreaming perceptions, are associated with reports of vivid and disturbing dreams. Three hundred and ninety six students completed questionnaires evaluating sleep, dreams, and dietary habits and motivations. Items queried whether they had noticed if foods produced bizarre or disturbing dreams and if eating late at night influenced their dreams. The perception of food-dependent dreaming had a prevalence of 17.8%; with dairy products being the most frequently blamed food category (39–44%). Those who perceived food-dependent dreaming differed from others by reporting more frequent and disturbing dreams, poorer sleep, higher coffee intake, and lower Intuitive Eating Scale scores. Reports of disturbing dreams were associated with a pathological constellation of measures that includes poorer sleep, binge-eating, and eating for emotional reasons. Reports of vivid dreams were associated with measures indicative of wellness: better sleep, a healthier diet, and longer times between meals (fasting). Results clarify the relationship between food and dreaming and suggest four explanations for the perception of food-dependent dreaming: (1) food specific effects; (2) food-induced distress; (3) folklore influences, and (4) causal misattributions. Research and clinical implications are discussed.Item Immediate and delayed incorporations of events into dreams: further replication and implications for dream function(2004) Nielsen, Tore A.; Kuiken, Don; Alain, Genevieve; Stenstrom, Philippe; Powell, Russell A.The incorporation of memories into dreams is characterized by two types of temporal effects: the day-residue effect, involving immediate incorporations of events from the preceding day, and the dream-lag effect, involving incorporations delayed by about a week. This study was designed to replicate these two effects while controlling several prior methodological problems and to provide preliminary information about potential functions of delayed event incorporations. Introductory Psychology students were asked to recall dreams at home for 1 week. Subsequently, they were instructed to select a single dream and to retrieve past events related to it that arose from one of seven randomly determined days prior to the dream (days 1–7). They then rated both their confidence in recall of events and the extent of correspondence between events and dreams. Judges evaluated qualities of the reported events using scales derived from theories about the function of delayed incorporations. Average ratings of correspondences between dreams and events were high for predream days 1 and 2, low for days 3 and 4 and high again for days 5–7, but only for participants who rated their confidence in recall of events as high and only for females. Delayed incorporations were more likely than immediate incorporations to refer to events characterized by interpersonal interactions, spatial locations, resolved problems and positive emotions. The findings are consistent with the possibility that processes with circaseptan (about 7 days) morphology underlie dream incorporation and that these processes subserve the functions of socio-emotional adaptation and memory consolidation.Item Nightmare frequency is related to a propensity for mirror behaviors(2013) Nielsen, Tore A.; Powell, Russell A.; Kuiken, DonWe previously reported that college students who indicated engaging in frequent dream-enacting behaviors also scored high on a new measure of mirror behaviors, which is the propensity to imitate another person's emotions or actions. Since dream-enacting behaviors are frequently the culmination of nightmares, one explanation for the observed relationship is that individuals who frequently display mirror behaviors are also prone to nightmares. We used the Mirror Behavior Questionnaire (MBQ) and self-reported frequencies of nightmares to assess this possibility. A sample of 480 students, consisting of 188 males (19.2±1.73 years) and 292 females (19.0±1.55 years) enrolled in a first-year university psychology course, participated for course credit. They completed a battery of questionnaires that included the 16-item MBQ, plus an item about nightmare frequency (NMF) in the past 30 days. NMF scores were split to create low, medium, and high NMF groups. MBQ total scores were significantly higher for female than for male subjects, but an interaction revealed that this was true only for Hi-NMF subjects. MBQ Factor 4, Motor Skill Imitation, paralleled this global interaction for females, whereas MBQ Factor 3, Sleepiness/Anger Contagion, was elevated only for Hi-NMF males. Item analyses indicated that Hi- and Med-NMF females scored higher than Lo-NMF females on the 3 items of Factor 4 that reflect voluntary imitation (imitating famous/cartoon voices, being a physically active spectator, and learning new skills by observing), as well as on 2 other items that reflect involuntary imitation (contagious yawning and self-rated empathy). Although Hi- and Lo-NMF males differed most clearly on the sleepiness item of Factor 3, all 3 items on this factor (including anger contagion and contagious yawning) are plausibly associated with perception of and response to social threat. Results provide evidence that among females nightmares are associated with voluntary and involuntary mirror behaviors during wakefulness, while among males nightmares are associated with threat-related mirror behaviors during wakefulness. They thus support the possibility that the association between mirror behaviors and dream-enacting behaviors is due to a common mirror neuron mechanism that underlies mirror behaviors and nightmares and that involves motor, rather than emotional, resonance. These results have implications for understanding the comorbidity of nightmares and other pathological symptoms such as imitative suicidal behaviors, the influence of observational learning on dissociative symptomatology, and the predominance of threat and aggression in the dream enacting behaviors of REM sleep behavior disorder.Item Speculations in 'Temporal delays in incorporation of events into dreams': a reply to Roll(1996) Powell, Russell A.; Nielsen, Tore A.Responds to S. Roll's (1995) charge of reductionism concerning the authors' finding of a parallel between patterns of delayed incorporation of events into dreams of humans and REM sleep patterns of rats (see record 1996-16368-001 ). Also, it is argued that the disruption-avoidance-adaptation model by J. Wright and D. Koulack (1987) explains better the dream-lag effect than Roll's psychoanalytic model of repression and repetition compulsion.Item Temporal delays in incorporation of events into dreams(1995) Powell, Russell A.; Nielsen, Tore A.; Cheung, Jennifer S.; Cervenka, Thomas M.Investigated the systematic resurgence in the incorporation of a daytime event into dreams following a period of several days, i.e., the 'dream-lag' effect. 10 male and 10 female Ss (aged 20–52 yrs) were shown a 30-min videotape depicting a ceremonial water buffalo slaughter by Naji villagers in Indonesia. Ss were instructed to write down their dreams for the next 7 nights. Two judges independently rated each report on a scale of 0–20, for the likelihood that some aspect of the videotape had been incorporated. Results provide evidence for the dream-lag effect. An initial tendency to incorporate, was followed by a decrease, and then a resurgence toward the end of the 1-wk period. This pattern was found only for those Ss who showed strong evidence of incorporation. However, the results may have been confounded by the Ss' awareness that the content of the tape was expected to be incorporated in dreams.Item Was Anna O.'s black snake hallucination a sleep paralysis nightmare? Dreams, memories, and trauma(1998) Powell, Russell A.; Nielsen, Tore A.This article offers a new interpretation of what J. Breuer believed was the precipitating event in Anna 0.'s illness: a terrifying hallucination of a black snake attacking her ailing father. This event has been variously interpreted as indicating an underlying psychodynamic conflict, as a temporal lobe seizure, and as an hypnotic confabulation. The authors argue, however, that the hallucination—during which Anna O.'s arm was reportedly 'asleep' due to nerve blockage—was probably a sleep paralysis nightmare. Sleep paralysis nightmares continue to be overlooked or misdiagnosed in clinical practice, and, in recent years, have been implicated in the controversy surrounding memories of trauma and sexual abuse.