Abstract:
Lucid dreaming (LD) is a physiological state of consciousness that occurs when dreamers become aware that they are dreaming, and may also control the oneiric content. In the general population, LD is spontaneously rare; thus, there is great interest in its induction. Here, we aim to review the literature on neuropsychopharmacological induction of LD. First, we describe the circadian and homeostatic processes of sleep regulation and the mechanisms that control REM sleep with a focus on neurotransmission systems. We then discuss the neurophysiology and phenomenology of LD to understand the main cortical oscillations and brain areas involved in the emergence of lucidity during REM sleep. Finally, we review possible exogenous substances-including natural plants and artificial drugs-that increase metacognition, REM sleep, and/or dream recall, thus with the potential to induce LD. We found that the main candidates are substances that increase cholinergic and/or dopaminergic transmission, such as galantamine. However, the main limitation of this technique is the complexity of these neurotransmitter systems, which challenges interpreting results in a simple way. We conclude that, despite these promising substances, more research is necessary to find a reliable way to pharmacologically induce LD.
摘要:
清醒梦(LD)是一种生理意识状态,当梦想家意识到他们在做梦时发生,并且还可以控制oneiric内容。在一般人群中,LD是自发罕见的;因此,对它的归纳法有很大的兴趣。这里,我们的目的是回顾有关LD的神经精神药理学诱导的文献。首先,我们描述了睡眠调节的昼夜节律和稳态过程,以及控制REM睡眠的机制,重点是神经传递系统。然后,我们讨论了LD的神经生理学和现象学,以了解REM睡眠过程中清醒现象的主要皮质振荡和大脑区域。最后,我们回顾了可能的外源性物质-包括天然植物和人工药物-增加元认知,REM睡眠,和/或梦想回忆,因此具有诱导LD的潜力。我们发现主要候选物质是增加胆碱能和/或多巴胺能传递的物质,比如加兰他敏。然而,这种技术的主要限制是这些神经递质系统的复杂性,以简单的方式挑战解释结果。我们的结论是,尽管这些有希望的物质,需要更多的研究来寻找一种可靠的药物诱导LD的方法。