Research Projects

Dreaming or sleep mentation is a unique phenomenon which provides an opportunity to understand brain mechanisms of inner consciousness. As meditation practices are reported to enhance brain network efficiency, exploring the enduring effects of meditation on dreams and inner consciousness is meaningful. The proposed study investigates whether meditation proficiency influence neurophysiology and phenomenology of dreaMs. Further, in the proposed study, we try to investigate the importance of meditation tradition-based techniques on dreams as each tradition leads to differential psychological experiences and impact our conscious experiences differently. Hence long-term practitioners of Vipassana Meditation VM and Brahmakumaris Rajayoga meditation BKRY will be included in the study. Multiple whole night polysomnography studies PSG will be conducted to evaluate the neural correlates of dreaming by serial awakening of subjects during different sleep states NREM N2 N3 states as well as during REM sleep for recording the dream experience and the EEG dynamics associated with dreaming. High-density EEG would enable us to evaluate the neurophysiological markers of dream experience, dream recall, distinctions in real time prediction of conscious experience across NREM and REM sleep states and the plausible brain regions meditating such dream experiences. Thus, by using a within state sleep, no stimulus, no task model, the proposed study tries to understand the neural correlates of meditation practice on dreams and sleep consciousness. In addition, the study would help to delineate tradition based diverse experiences and trait consciousness as a background context of one's subjective experiences associated with dreaMs. Such approach would constitute a valuable model to study consciousness beyond sleep.