Dissociated resting-state functional networks between the dream recall frequency and REM sleep percentage

Qihong Zou; Shuqin Zhou; Jing Xu; Zihui Su; Yuezhen Li; Yundong Ma; Hongqiang Sun; Changwei W Wu; Jia-Hong Gao

doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.03.015

Dissociated resting-state functional networks between the dream recall frequency and REM sleep percentage

Neuroimage. 2018 Jul 1:174:248-256. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.03.015. Epub 2018 Mar 12.

Authors

Qihong Zou¹, Shuqin Zhou², Jing Xu³, Zihui Su⁴, Yuezhen Li⁵, Yundong Ma⁵, Hongqiang Sun⁵, Changwei W Wu⁶, Jia-Hong Gao⁷

Affiliations

¹ Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China. Electronic address: zouqihong@pku.edu.cn.
² Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China; Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
³ Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China; Beijing City Key Lab for Medical Physics and Engineering, Institution of Heavy Ion Physics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
⁴ Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China; Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 0C7, Canada.
⁵ Peking University Sixth Hospital (Institute of Mental Health), Beijing, 100191, China; National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Ministry of Health (Peking University), Beijing, 100191, China.
⁶ Taipei Medical University Research Center of Brain and Consciousness, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 110, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Mind, Brain and Consciousness, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 110, Taiwan.
⁷ Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China; Beijing City Key Lab for Medical Physics and Engineering, Institution of Heavy Ion Physics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China; McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China; Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen, 518057, China. Electronic address: jgao@pku.edu.cn.

PMID: 29544817
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.03.015

Abstract

Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep has been frequently associated with dreaming. However, mounting evidence obtained from behavioral, pharmacological, and brain imaging studies suggests that REM sleep is not indicative of the dream report and may originate from diverse neural substrates in brain functionality. The aim of the current study was to investigate the functional systems associated with inter-individual differences in dream recall and REM sleep through assessments of the resting-state functional connectivity. We collected resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data for functional connectivity evaluations from 43 healthy adult volunteers (23 men) before and after sleep. For assessment of the dream recall frequency, a 2-week sleep diary was maintained by all volunteers. In addition, whole-night polysomnography was performed for measuring the REM sleep percentage. Voxel-wise correlation analyses of 12 functional connectivity networks of interest with the dream recall frequency and REM sleep percentage were conducted using general linear model analysis. Both the dream recall frequency and REM sleep percentage showed negative associations with multiple brain functional networks. However, the dream recall frequency was mainly related to functional connectivity within the lateral visual network and thalamus, whereas the REM sleep percentage was mainly associated with connectivity within the frontoparietal networks and cerebellum. In addition, the dream recall frequency showed stronger coupling with the lateral visual network connectivity at night, whereas the coupling between the REM sleep percentage and cerebellum was higher in the morning. This indicated a significant time of day effect. Our results provide neuroimaging evidence that the functional system associated with the dream recall frequency is different from that associated with the REM sleep percentage.

Keywords: Dream recall frequency; Functional connectivity; REM sleep percentage; Resting-state fMRI; Time of day effect.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Brain / physiology*
Brain Mapping
Dreams / physiology*
Female
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Mental Recall / physiology*
Neural Pathways / physiology
Polysomnography
Sleep, REM*
Young Adult