Does Gamma tACS Really Induce Lucid Dreaming?

Dream scene from InceptionDIY brain stimulation geeks were supercharged last week by the finding that dream awareness could be enhanced by transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS)1 at frequencies of 25 and 40 Hz (Voss et al., 2014). Headlines were abuzz with zingers like Brain Zaps Can Trigger Lucid Dreams and A Jolt to the Brain Triggers Lucid Dreams and Brain Zap Could Help You Control Your Dreams. Visualize all the incipient Kickstarter campaigns ready to capitalize on the lucid dreaming market...Except did the stimulation really induce lucid dreaming? The only critical evaluation of this claim (that I'm aware of) came from Christian Jarrett in his post, Psychologists Give People Control of Their Dreams Using Brain Stimulation. Really? He closely examined the Lucidity and Consciousness in Dreams scale (LuCiD) used by the experimenters (Voss et al., 2013) and saw that the participants' self-ratings weren't actually indicative of lucid dreaming.Although the scores on some LuCiD factors were indeed significantly higher after frontal stimulation at 25 Hz (beta, actually) and/or 40 Hz (gamma) frequencies (relative to sham or other frequencies), this did not mean the dreams were technically “lucid”.Fig. 3 (Voss et al., 2014). Mean scores for three LuCiD factors [NOTE: each self-rating scale goes from 0: strongly disagree to 5: strongly agree].The LuCiD scale consists of 28 statements, each followed by a 6-point rating scale (0: strongly disagree, 5: strongly agr...
Source: The Neurocritic - Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Source Type: blogs