Back

Poor dream recall associates with Alzheimer's disease biomarkers and dementia risk

Lipnicki, D. M.; Valenti, M.; Valeriano-Lorenzo, E.; Vella, A. S.; Zea-Sevilla, M. A.; Ricciardi, M.; Frades, B.; Martinez, M.; Wagner, S.; Sachdev, P. S.; del Ser, T.; Sanchez-Juan, P.

2025-09-17 neurology
10.1101/2025.09.16.25335946 medRxiv
Show abstract

INTRODUCTIONDreaming is subserved by the default mode network (DMN) and can be abolished by focal lesions within key regions. DMN dysfunction is promoted by pre-clinical Alzheimers pathology and apolipoprotein E (APOE) {varepsilon}4 carriage, but any effects of these on dreaming are unknown. METHODSAssociations between dream recall and APOE {varepsilon}4 carriage and blood phosphorylated tau (p-tau) 217 levels were determined using data for 1049 cognitively normal adults. Associations between dream recall and cognitive decline and dementia risk were also investigated. RESULTSHigher p-tau217 levels and APOE {varepsilon}4 carriage were both associated with lower chances of dream recall, independently of memory test scores and other covariates. Not recalling dreams at baseline was associated with faster cognitive decline and greater likelihood of dementia over 10 years of follow up. DISCUSSIONPoor dream recall in later life may be a novel and easily assessed indicator of early neurodegeneration.

Published in Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring · not in our set (fewer than 10 published preprints to learn from) · training set

Matching journals

The top 3 journals account for 50% of the predicted probability mass.

50% of probability mass above