Active Projects
Neural correlates of advanced lucid dreaming
This project uses high-density EEG to examine the neural correlates of high-level dream control and social cognition in expert lucid dreamers.
Sleep and nightmares in deaf individuals
We found deaf individuals have poor sleep and nightmares. We are now assessing objective sleep and mental health in this population.
Inducing lucid dreams with wearables
We are conducting a study with collaborators at Donders Institute and IMT Lucca using a wearable EEG headband to deliver sensory stimulation to induce lucid dreams.
What dreams may come
This collaboration with Dr. Antonio Zadra and Dr. Santiago Hidalgo studies the impact of cinematic stimuli on dream content and subsequent emotional reactivity.
Open-access tools for dream analysis
This project is dedicated to developing a public database of dream reports and companion software for its analysis. The Python package, Froid, is under active development.
Funding: Sleep and Dream Database
Fundings
2024-2026: SSHRC Insight Development Grant; $75,000; Role: Principal Investigator; The sociability of dreams: Investigating the interplay between loneliness, dreams, and social well-being
2024-2029: NSERC Discovery Grant; $157,000; Role: Principal Investigator; Investigating the functional role of (lucid) dreaming in REM sleep-dependent emotion regulation
2024-2028: Reseaux thematiques de recherche du FRQS; $1,800,000; Role: Co-Investigator; Reseau Quebecois de recherche sur le sommeil
2024-2027: FRQS Chercheuse-Boursière J1–Subvention d’etablissement; $80 000; Role: Principal Investigator; Ingénierie des rêves : Modulation des rêves et ses effets sur le sommeil paradoxal et la régulation des émotions
2023-2025: Dream Library Foundation directed donation; $40,000 USD; Role: Principal Investigator; Developing a toolkit for analyzing big dream databases
2023-2025: Canadian Hearing Services, Global Partnerships for Research and Innovation; $100,000; Role: Principal Investigator; Objective and subjective characteristics of sleep and mental health in Deaf and hard of hearing individuals
2023-2027: SSHRC Insight Competition; $250,000; Role: Co-Investigator; What dreams may come: How cinema influences the language, experience, and images of dreams
2023-2025: John Templeton Foundation, under subcontract with Shirley Ryan Ability Lab; $55,000 USD; Role: Principal Investigator; Self and Other Agency in (Lucid) Dreaming: Neurocognitive correlates and phenomenological inquiry of dream guides
2022-2029: SSHRC Partnership Grant; $2,499,244; Role: Co-Investigator; cinEXmedia: Ensuring Well-Being in the Screen Age: A Partnership Supporting the Inclusive Use of Cinematic Experiences in Health, Education, and Society