TweakDreams - Tweaking dreams: non-invasive modulation of the level and content of mental activity during sleep

The mechanisms of sleep have been studied for decades, but many aspects remain a mystery. What is known is that sleep is a locally regulated phenomenon in which cortical islands of sleep- and wake-like activity can coexist. This activity is also related to the presence and content of mental activity during sleep. In other words, dreams would result from ‘local awakenings’ in the otherwise sleeping brain. The EU-funded TweakDreams project will study the local mechanisms regulating sleep by exploiting known properties of the thalamocortical system. The project will determine whether particular sensory-stimulation protocols can make it possible to directly modulate sleep intensity in a local, region-specific manner.