Swansea University Sleep Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Swansea University, Swansea, United Kingdom.
Dream & Nightmare Laboratory, Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal, Montréal, Canada; Deptartment of Psychiatry, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada.
Clin Psychol Rev. 2017 Dec;58:86-96. doi: 10.1016/j.cpr.2017.10.002. Epub 2017 Oct 16.
Research on nightmares has largely focused on the nightmare itself and its associated negative consequences, framing nightmare sufferers as victims of a diathesis-stress induced form of psychopathology. However, there is evidence that frequent nightmare recallers are sensitive to a wide range of sensory and emotional experiences, and report vivid, bizarre and even intensely positive dream and daydream experiences. We propose sensory processing sensitivity as a novel trait marker that underlies the unique symptoms and imaginative richness found in nightmare-prone individuals. Sensory processing sensitivity describes an increased emotional reactivity, greater depth of processing, and subtle awareness of environmental stimuli-it is a 'for better and for worse' trait that is associated with positive outcomes in conditions of support, but also confers a tendency to be easily overwhelmed by stressors and adversity. This novel approach places nightmare-prone individuals within the broader framework of Differential Susceptibility and raises the possibility that they may benefit especially from supportive environments-a possibility that is particularly relevant for developing future treatment approaches.
对噩梦的研究主要集中在噩梦本身及其相关的负面影响上，将受噩梦折磨的人视为素质-应激诱发心理病理学形式的受害者。然而，有证据表明，频繁的噩梦回忆者对各种感官和情绪体验都很敏感，并报告生动、离奇甚至强烈的积极梦境和白日梦体验。我们提出感觉加工敏感性作为一种新的特质标记，它是易做噩梦的个体独特症状和丰富想象力的基础。感觉加工敏感性描述了一种增强的情绪反应性、更深入的加工过程和对环境刺激的细微意识——这是一种“好坏参半”的特质，在支持的情况下与积极的结果相关，但也容易使个体受到压力和逆境的影响。这种新方法将易做噩梦的个体置于差异易感性的更广泛框架内，并提出了这样一种可能性，即他们可能特别受益于支持性环境——这对于开发未来的治疗方法尤其相关。
