Overview

• Researchers analyzed the largest EEG dataset ever assembled for lucid dreaming, pooling data across multiple labs using a standardized processing pipeline.
• Distinct neural markers, including reduced beta power and increased alpha and gamma connectivity, differentiate lucid dreaming from REM sleep and wakefulness.
• The findings link lucid dreaming to shifts in brain activity associated with self-awareness, memory processing, and cognitive control.
• Source-level analyses revealed significant changes in parietal and central brain regions, including the temporo-parietal junction, during lucid dreaming.
• The study challenges the binary view of sleep and wake states, suggesting consciousness can emerge entirely within sleep itself.