Thread: Arizona Killer Jared Loughner and Lucid Dreaming: Time Magazine Flub?

I felt it important to note a potential misunderstanding of a possible connection to Jared Loughner's violent act and lucid dreaming. The author of the article "A Mind Unhinged" by John Cloud in this week's issue of Time Magazine appears to make it look like lucid dreaming may have contributed (or caused) to Loughner's psychotic mental state. Cloud states:

"...Loughner's interest in his lucid dreams is significant, because last year the European Science Foundation reported that lucid dreaming 'creates distinct patterns of electrical activity in the brain that have similarities to the patterns made by psychotic conditions.' Loughner's drug use could have kept him from falling into deep sleep and encouraged lucid dreaming. The European group said paranoid delusions can occur when lucid dreams are replayed repeatedly after the subject wakes up. Loughner was replaying his lucid dreams in an extensive dream journal, according to his friend Bryce Tierney, who spoke with Mother Jones magazine."

I read both the European Science Foundation and the Mother Jones articles (I will post links below), and it seems that Cloud misinterpreted the articles. The European group did not say that paranoid delusions can occur when lucid dreams are replayed when the dreamer wakes up. All they really said is that realistic simulations of threatening events in dreams contribute to evolutionary survival. When real life threats happen, the brain is ready because it has "replayed" the threat before in a dream state. The article does not definitively say that people can develop paranoid delusions because people replay lucid dreams in real life.

Also, all the Mother Jones article states is that Loughner kept an extensive dream journal--not that he was "replaying" the lucid dreams after he awoke.

I should note that I do understand how lucid dreaming could harm people who are already psychologically unstable. In healthy people, however, lucid dreaming should pose little to no negative psychological consequences.

Anybody out there have any thoughts on this? I just found that part of the Time article a little fishy so I dug a little to find out more.

EXT: News-Singleview : European Science Foundation[tt_news]=585&cHash=f5fc64419415ae815426092cda6c2aa0

The above link does not seem to work. The title of the article is "New links between dreams and psychosis could revive dream therapy in psychiatry" July 2009

Exclusive: Loughner Friend Explains Alleged Gunman's Grudge Against Giffords | Mother Jones