The Dream, Sleep and Hypnosis Research Centre (RUHMER) is a research center that was established to conduct studies on dream, sleep and hypnosis with a multidisciplinary approach utilizing methods from neuroscience, psychology and psychopathology.
Our research on sleep focuses on:
-neural mechanisms underlying sleep and wakefulness
-the relationship of sleep with emotion, cognition, memory, and metabolism
-the association between sleep patterns and neurodegenerative diseases
-the relationship between healthy cognitive aging and sleep
-circadian rhythm, sleep, and mood
-napping and its effects on cognition, memory, and mood
-the effects of caffeine on sleep
On dream, we investigate:
-the content of dreams and its effects on the daily life of the dreamer
-electrophysiological correlates of different kinds of dreams, like big dreams
Concerning hypnosis, we study on:
-the behavioral, cognitive, and neural correlates of hypnosis
-hypnotic dreams and their therapeutic effects
-the modeling of hypnotic confabulation
Furthermore, we particularly interest in critical analytical thinking.
In RUHMER, we use a range of techniques to measure brain activity, including polysomnography (PSG), electroencephalography (EEG), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS); and apply neuropsychometric and neuropsychiatric assessments.