title: Does Consciousness Disappear in Dreamless Sleep?
abstract: Consciousness is often said to disappear in deep, dreamless sleep. We argue that this assumption is oversimplified. Unless dreamless sleep is defined as unconscious from the outset there are good empirical and theoretical reasons for saying that a range of different types of sleep experience, some of which are distinct from dreaming, can occur in all stages of sleep. We introduce a novel taxonomy for describing different kinds of dreamless sleep experiences and suggest research methods for their investigation. Future studies should focus on three areas: memory consolidation, sleep disorders, and sleep state (mis)perception. Our proposal suggests new directions for sleep and dream science, as well as for the neuroscience of consciousness, and can also inform the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Philosophy, Monash University, Level 6, Menzies Building, Clayton Campus, 20 Chancellor's Walk, Monash University, VIC 3800, Australia.
authors.forename: Jennifer M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Windt
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Université de Montréal, and the Dream and Nightmare Laboratory, Centre for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal, 5400 Boulevard Gouin Ouest, Montréal, QC H4 J 1C5, Canada.
authors.forename: Tore
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nielsen
authors.affiliation: Department of Philosophy, University of British Columbia, 1866 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6 T 1Z4, Canada. Electronic address: evan.thompson@ubc.ca.
authors.forename: Evan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Thompson
mesh_terms: D003243:Consciousness; D004325:Dreams; D006801:Humans; D009488:Neurosciences; D010465:Perception; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: consciousness; dreaming; memory; sleep; sleep disorders; slow-wave sleep