Vlada Khallieva’s scientific contributions

Synesthesia is a phenomenon in which the stimulation of 1 sensory modality automatically and consistently over time evokes a sensation in the same or a different modality in an idiosyncratic manner. In addition to pure sensory coupling, synesthetes are characterized by cognitive peculiarities, such as abnormalities in perception, creativity, advantages in vocabulary, and vivid imagery. The present work is concerned with the question of the extent to which synesthetes’ unusual perception is reflected in the dream state. Little is known about synesthetes’ dreaming behavior. Dreams are equated with the unconscious processing of the mind. An exception is a lucid dream, in which one is aware of their dreaming. In this dissociative state, it is possible to establish a connection to one’s waking reality, wake up in a targeted manner, and control dream actions. Through self-report measures, participants (N = 31 grapheme–color synesthetes; N = 32 nonsynesthetes) indicated their dream experiences and completed the Lucidity and Consciousness in Dreams scale. Synesthetes reported lucid dream experiences significantly more often than nonsynesthetes. Qualitative differences were not found between both groups’ lucid dreamers. The 2 groups of lucid dreamers reported a majority of highly frequented lucidity. In addition, an association was identified between the early onset of lucid dreaming and higher values of the Lucidity and Consciousness in Dreams scale. The results are discussed regarding the relevance of lucidity in synesthesia within the context of consciousness research.

Synaesthesia is a phenomenon in which the stimulation of one sensory modality automatically and consistently over time evokes a sensation in the same or a different modality in an idiosyncratic manner. In addition to pure sensory coupling, synaesthetes are characterized by cognitive peculiarities, such as abnormalities in perception, creativity, advantages in vocabulary, and vivid imagery. The present work is concerned with the question of the extent to which synaesthetes’ unusual perception is reflected in the dream state. Little is known about synaesthetes’ dreaming behaviour. Dreams are equated with the unconscious processing of the mind. An exception is a lucid dream, in which one is aware of their dreaming. In this dissociative state, it is possible to establish a connection to one's waking reality, wake up in a targeted manner, and control dream actions. Through self-report measures, participants (N=31 grapheme-colour-synaesthetes; N=32 non-synaesthetes) indicated their dream experiences and completed the Lucidity and Consciousness in Dreams scale (LuCiD scale). Synaesthetes reported lucid dream experiences significantly more often than non-synaesthetes. Qualitative differences were not found between both groups’ lucid dreamers. The two groups of lucid dreamers reported a majority of highly frequented lucidity. In addition, an association was identified between the early onset of lucid dreaming and higher values of the LuCiD scale. The results are discussed regarding the relevance of lucidity in synaesthesia within the context of consciousness research.