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Dissociative symptoms and REM sleep

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 November 2013

Dalena van Heugten-van der Kloet ,
Harald Merckelbach  and
Steven Jay Lynn
Dalena van Heugten-van der Kloet
Affiliation:
Forensic Psychology Section, Maastricht University, Maastricht 6200 MD, The Netherlands. [email protected]@maastrichtuniversity.nl
Harald Merckelbach
Affiliation:
Forensic Psychology Section, Maastricht University, Maastricht 6200 MD, The Netherlands. [email protected]@maastrichtuniversity.nl
Steven Jay Lynn
Affiliation:
Psychology Department, Binghamton University (SUNY), Binghamton, NY 13902. [email protected]
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Abstract

Llewellyn has written a fascinating article about rapid eye movement (REM) dreams and how they promote the elaborative encoding of recent memories. The main message of her article is that hyperassociative and fluid cognitive processes during REM dreaming facilitate consolidation. We consider one potential implication of this analysis: the possibility that excessive or out-of-phase REM sleep fuels dissociative symptomatology. Further research is warranted to explore the psychopathological ramifications of Llewellyn's theory.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 36 , Issue 6 , December 2013 , pp. 630 - 631
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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