Valentina Elce
@valentinaelce.bsky.social
PostDoc @IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca (Italy), Sleep, Plasticity and Conscious Experience (SPACE) Group
Dream Researcher
Linguist
«Dreams are answers to questions we haven't yet figured out how to ask.»
(Fox Mulder – X-files, s2 ep12)
Dream Researcher
Linguist
«Dreams are answers to questions we haven't yet figured out how to ask.»
(Fox Mulder – X-files, s2 ep12)
Pinned
Valentina Elce
@valentinaelce.bsky.social
· May 22
📄 New preprint! 🎊
Elce et al., "The semantics of dreams": www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We show that dream content is shaped by both wakefulness experiences and stable individual psychological/cognitive traits. 🌕
Elce et al., "The semantics of dreams": www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We show that dream content is shaped by both wakefulness experiences and stable individual psychological/cognitive traits. 🌕
The semantics of dreams
Dreams are universal yet deeply personal experiences. While memory and personal concerns influence dream content, the impact of other individual, generalizable traits remains poorly understood. To add...
www.biorxiv.org
The preprint of our dear “the Semantics of Dreams” is out!
Reposted by Valentina Elce
New review from the Lab: Bontempi et al., "The Effects of RBD Medications on Dream Content: A Critical Review of Evidence"
💊 "Available evidence offers only limited support for clonazepam, melatonin, and pramipexole in reducing disturbing dream content"
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
💊 "Available evidence offers only limited support for clonazepam, melatonin, and pramipexole in reducing disturbing dream content"
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
The Effects of RBD Medications on Dream Content: A Critical Review of Evidence
REM sleep behavior disorder, often an early marker of α-synucleinopathies, is characterized by the loss of REM-related muscle atonia and the occurrenc…
www.sciencedirect.com
October 22, 2025 at 5:54 AM
New review from the Lab: Bontempi et al., "The Effects of RBD Medications on Dream Content: A Critical Review of Evidence"
💊 "Available evidence offers only limited support for clonazepam, melatonin, and pramipexole in reducing disturbing dream content"
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
💊 "Available evidence offers only limited support for clonazepam, melatonin, and pramipexole in reducing disturbing dream content"
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Valentina Elce
Neuroscience of Dreaming
Summer School - May 4-8, 2026 - Lucca, Italy
Applications open: nodsummerschool.imtlucca.it
Summer School - May 4-8, 2026 - Lucca, Italy
Applications open: nodsummerschool.imtlucca.it
October 20, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Neuroscience of Dreaming
Summer School - May 4-8, 2026 - Lucca, Italy
Applications open: nodsummerschool.imtlucca.it
Summer School - May 4-8, 2026 - Lucca, Italy
Applications open: nodsummerschool.imtlucca.it
Reposted by Valentina Elce
🚨 New preprint 🚨
"Immersive NREM dreaming preserves subjective sleep depth against declining sleep pressure." We analyzed 1,024 awakenings collected across 196 nights with high-density EEG (256 ch.) to explore the relationship between dreaming and subjective sleep depth.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
"Immersive NREM dreaming preserves subjective sleep depth against declining sleep pressure." We analyzed 1,024 awakenings collected across 196 nights with high-density EEG (256 ch.) to explore the relationship between dreaming and subjective sleep depth.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Immersive NREM dreaming preserves subjective sleep depth against declining sleep pressure
Perceived sleep depth is a key determinant of subjective sleep quality, traditionally thought to reflect unconsciousness and reduced cortical activation. Here, we combined high-density EEG with a seri...
doi.org
September 10, 2025 at 7:54 AM
🚨 New preprint 🚨
"Immersive NREM dreaming preserves subjective sleep depth against declining sleep pressure." We analyzed 1,024 awakenings collected across 196 nights with high-density EEG (256 ch.) to explore the relationship between dreaming and subjective sleep depth.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
"Immersive NREM dreaming preserves subjective sleep depth against declining sleep pressure." We analyzed 1,024 awakenings collected across 196 nights with high-density EEG (256 ch.) to explore the relationship between dreaming and subjective sleep depth.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Reposted by Valentina Elce
🧠🧪 New paper in #NCONSC 🧠🧪
What if people who seem unconscious (e.g., Disorders of Consciousness, DoC) could still dream or experience mind wandering?
We explore this possibility in a new review:
academic.oup.com/nc/article/2...
With Jasmine Walter and Jennifer Windt!
#consciousness #dreaming
What if people who seem unconscious (e.g., Disorders of Consciousness, DoC) could still dream or experience mind wandering?
We explore this possibility in a new review:
academic.oup.com/nc/article/2...
With Jasmine Walter and Jennifer Windt!
#consciousness #dreaming
Do individuals with disorders of consciousness dream and mind wander? Implications for improving diagnosis and understanding patient wellbeing
Abstract. Fluctuations in the presence, experiential quality and contents of consciousness occur naturally during sleep and wakefulness and are core featur
academic.oup.com
September 7, 2025 at 3:52 PM
🧠🧪 New paper in #NCONSC 🧠🧪
What if people who seem unconscious (e.g., Disorders of Consciousness, DoC) could still dream or experience mind wandering?
We explore this possibility in a new review:
academic.oup.com/nc/article/2...
With Jasmine Walter and Jennifer Windt!
#consciousness #dreaming
What if people who seem unconscious (e.g., Disorders of Consciousness, DoC) could still dream or experience mind wandering?
We explore this possibility in a new review:
academic.oup.com/nc/article/2...
With Jasmine Walter and Jennifer Windt!
#consciousness #dreaming
Reposted by Valentina Elce
Save the date!! 🗓️
The 2nd edition of the Summer School on the Neuroscience of Dreaming 💤 will take place 4–8 May 2026 in Lucca, Italy, at the IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca.
📍 The official website will be released soon: stay tuned for updates!
The 2nd edition of the Summer School on the Neuroscience of Dreaming 💤 will take place 4–8 May 2026 in Lucca, Italy, at the IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca.
📍 The official website will be released soon: stay tuned for updates!
August 1, 2025 at 8:06 AM
Save the date!! 🗓️
The 2nd edition of the Summer School on the Neuroscience of Dreaming 💤 will take place 4–8 May 2026 in Lucca, Italy, at the IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca.
📍 The official website will be released soon: stay tuned for updates!
The 2nd edition of the Summer School on the Neuroscience of Dreaming 💤 will take place 4–8 May 2026 in Lucca, Italy, at the IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca.
📍 The official website will be released soon: stay tuned for updates!
🔔New preprint out!
We reviewed how RBD medications affect dream content.
Take home message: the need for standardization and methodological rigor in future studies.
“The effects of RBD Medications on Dream Content: A Critical Review of Evidence” is now available here: doi.org/10.31234/osf...
We reviewed how RBD medications affect dream content.
Take home message: the need for standardization and methodological rigor in future studies.
“The effects of RBD Medications on Dream Content: A Critical Review of Evidence” is now available here: doi.org/10.31234/osf...
OSF
doi.org
September 2, 2025 at 7:48 AM
🔔New preprint out!
We reviewed how RBD medications affect dream content.
Take home message: the need for standardization and methodological rigor in future studies.
“The effects of RBD Medications on Dream Content: A Critical Review of Evidence” is now available here: doi.org/10.31234/osf...
We reviewed how RBD medications affect dream content.
Take home message: the need for standardization and methodological rigor in future studies.
“The effects of RBD Medications on Dream Content: A Critical Review of Evidence” is now available here: doi.org/10.31234/osf...
Reposted by Valentina Elce
Interested in how emotions surface in dreams across the night? In this new paper, Jessica Palmieri, @valentinaelce.bsky.social and I report about the “Nightly dynamics of emotional content in dreams.”
doi.org/10.1016/j.ne...
doi.org/10.1016/j.ne...
August 15, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Interested in how emotions surface in dreams across the night? In this new paper, Jessica Palmieri, @valentinaelce.bsky.social and I report about the “Nightly dynamics of emotional content in dreams.”
doi.org/10.1016/j.ne...
doi.org/10.1016/j.ne...
Reposted by Valentina Elce
💤🧠🧪 New article! 🧪🧠💤
After years of effort led by @qualiastructure.bsky.social (Nao Tsuchiya and William Wong), Jenny Windt, Katja Valli, Valdas Noreika and @rherzoga.bsky.social, the Dream database is now published in @natcomms.nature.com
**A dream EEG and mentation database**
rdcu.be/eAwni
After years of effort led by @qualiastructure.bsky.social (Nao Tsuchiya and William Wong), Jenny Windt, Katja Valli, Valdas Noreika and @rherzoga.bsky.social, the Dream database is now published in @natcomms.nature.com
**A dream EEG and mentation database**
rdcu.be/eAwni
August 14, 2025 at 1:40 PM
💤🧠🧪 New article! 🧪🧠💤
After years of effort led by @qualiastructure.bsky.social (Nao Tsuchiya and William Wong), Jenny Windt, Katja Valli, Valdas Noreika and @rherzoga.bsky.social, the Dream database is now published in @natcomms.nature.com
**A dream EEG and mentation database**
rdcu.be/eAwni
After years of effort led by @qualiastructure.bsky.social (Nao Tsuchiya and William Wong), Jenny Windt, Katja Valli, Valdas Noreika and @rherzoga.bsky.social, the Dream database is now published in @natcomms.nature.com
**A dream EEG and mentation database**
rdcu.be/eAwni
The preprint of our dear “the Semantics of Dreams” is out!
📄 New preprint! 🎊
Elce et al., "The semantics of dreams": www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We show that dream content is shaped by both wakefulness experiences and stable individual psychological/cognitive traits. 🌕
Elce et al., "The semantics of dreams": www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We show that dream content is shaped by both wakefulness experiences and stable individual psychological/cognitive traits. 🌕
The semantics of dreams
Dreams are universal yet deeply personal experiences. While memory and personal concerns influence dream content, the impact of other individual, generalizable traits remains poorly understood. To add...
www.biorxiv.org
May 22, 2025 at 6:24 AM
The preprint of our dear “the Semantics of Dreams” is out!
Reposted by Valentina Elce
📢 The PhD call for "Mind, Brain, and Human Thought" (track: "Experimental Psychology and Psychophysiology") at the IMT School, Lucca is now open!
Join us in the Sleep, Plasticity, and Conscious Experience (SPACE) Lab to explore the science of sleep and dreaming. 🧠💤
Apply here 👉 mbht.imtlucca.it
Join us in the Sleep, Plasticity, and Conscious Experience (SPACE) Lab to explore the science of sleep and dreaming. 🧠💤
Apply here 👉 mbht.imtlucca.it
MBHT@IMT School
PhD Program in
Mind, Brain, and Human Thought (MBHT)
mbht.imtlucca.it
March 27, 2025 at 10:01 PM
📢 The PhD call for "Mind, Brain, and Human Thought" (track: "Experimental Psychology and Psychophysiology") at the IMT School, Lucca is now open!
Join us in the Sleep, Plasticity, and Conscious Experience (SPACE) Lab to explore the science of sleep and dreaming. 🧠💤
Apply here 👉 mbht.imtlucca.it
Join us in the Sleep, Plasticity, and Conscious Experience (SPACE) Lab to explore the science of sleep and dreaming. 🧠💤
Apply here 👉 mbht.imtlucca.it
Already enjoyed the preprint very much! Highly recommended!
With immense pleasure, here is our #TICS opinion paper on "mind blanking"!
@cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social
**Where is my mind?**
A neurocognitive investigation of mind blanking
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
With Jenny Windt, @antoinelutz.bsky.social and @ademertzi.bsky.social
@cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social
**Where is my mind?**
A neurocognitive investigation of mind blanking
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
With Jenny Windt, @antoinelutz.bsky.social and @ademertzi.bsky.social
ScienceDirect.com | Science, health and medical journals, full text articles and books.
authors.elsevier.com
April 24, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Already enjoyed the preprint very much! Highly recommended!
Reposted by Valentina Elce
This study by Wulff & Mata uses language models to create semantic embeddings of psychometric items and scales, aiding in predicting empirical relations and clarifying psychological taxonomies.
https://www.nature.c...
https://www.nature.c...
Semantic embeddings reveal and address taxonomic incommensurability in psychological measurement - Nature Human Behaviour
Taxonomic incommensurability highlights the difficulty of comparing scientific theories due to differing concepts and methods.
www.nature.com
March 11, 2025 at 7:39 PM
This study by Wulff & Mata uses language models to create semantic embeddings of psychometric items and scales, aiding in predicting empirical relations and clarifying psychological taxonomies.
https://www.nature.c...
https://www.nature.c...
Reposted by Valentina Elce
Reposted by Valentina Elce
Los nazis se han cargado PubMed.
Another dystopian situation in our biomedical knowledge production system: #PubMed, the database all scientists and students use is down.
This harms science, health care, patients, communities, and policy making: evidence-based medicine requires findability of scientific articles.
This harms science, health care, patients, communities, and policy making: evidence-based medicine requires findability of scientific articles.
March 2, 2025 at 9:28 AM
Los nazis se han cargado PubMed.
Reposted by Valentina Elce
Does sleep affect the relationship between representations formed in different memory systems? Check out our new preprint on how sleep resolves the competition between explicit and implicit memory: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Sleep Resolves Competition Between Explicit and Implicit Memory Systems
Sleep supports stabilization of explicit, declarative memory and benefits implicit, procedural memory. In addition, sleep may change the quality of memory representations. Explicit and implicit learni...
www.biorxiv.org
February 26, 2025 at 9:32 AM
Does sleep affect the relationship between representations formed in different memory systems? Check out our new preprint on how sleep resolves the competition between explicit and implicit memory: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Valentina Elce
Incorporation of complex narratives into dreaming https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.02.11.637675v1
February 12, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Incorporation of complex narratives into dreaming https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.02.11.637675v1
Reposted by Valentina Elce
The likelihood to recall a dream in the morning and the ability to remember its content are modulated by a combination of stable individual traits and dynamic night-by-night and seasonal change, according to a study in Communications Psychology. https://go.nature.com/3EKJaCd 🧪
February 21, 2025 at 11:27 PM
The likelihood to recall a dream in the morning and the ability to remember its content are modulated by a combination of stable individual traits and dynamic night-by-night and seasonal change, according to a study in Communications Psychology. https://go.nature.com/3EKJaCd 🧪
Beyond happy and proud to share our new study about the individual determinants of morning dream recall in the general Italian population, just published on @commspsychol.bsky.social!
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
The individual determinants of morning dream recall - Communications Psychology
The likelihood to recall in the morning that one had a dream and the ability to remember its content are modulated by a combination of stable individual traits and dynamic night-by-night and seasonal ...
www.nature.com
February 18, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Beyond happy and proud to share our new study about the individual determinants of morning dream recall in the general Italian population, just published on @commspsychol.bsky.social!
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Reposted by Valentina Elce
The Influence of Intentions on Dream Content
academic.oup.com/sleepadvance...
Interesting application of LLMs for the analysis of dream content and task incorporation...
academic.oup.com/sleepadvance...
Interesting application of LLMs for the analysis of dream content and task incorporation...
The Influence of Intentions on Dream Content
AbstractStudy Objectives. The
academic.oup.com
December 1, 2024 at 7:35 AM
The Influence of Intentions on Dream Content
academic.oup.com/sleepadvance...
Interesting application of LLMs for the analysis of dream content and task incorporation...
academic.oup.com/sleepadvance...
Interesting application of LLMs for the analysis of dream content and task incorporation...
Very very proud of Giorgia Bontempi who’s presenting her first poster, titled “Dream Recall and Content in Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Sleep Behaviour Disorder”, at the XXXIV conference of the Italian Association of Sleep Medicine (AIMS) in Pisa!
November 30, 2024 at 5:44 PM
Very very proud of Giorgia Bontempi who’s presenting her first poster, titled “Dream Recall and Content in Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Sleep Behaviour Disorder”, at the XXXIV conference of the Italian Association of Sleep Medicine (AIMS) in Pisa!
A very much needed multidisciplinary semantic glossary.
Because words matter!
Because words matter!
THE BIG ONE! link.springer.com/article/10.3...
What we mean when we say semantic: Toward a multidisciplinary semantic glossary - Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
Tulving characterized semantic memory as a vast repository of meaning that underlies language and many other cognitive processes. This perspective on lexical and conceptual knowledge galvanized a new ...
link.springer.com
November 24, 2024 at 7:36 PM
A very much needed multidisciplinary semantic glossary.
Because words matter!
Because words matter!
Reposted by Valentina Elce
Last chance to register and submit your project proposal for the #BrainHackLucca2024! Join us December 1-5 at @IMTLucca!
Link to the official website: brainhacklucca.github.io
Link to the official website: brainhacklucca.github.io
November 15, 2024 at 10:34 AM
Last chance to register and submit your project proposal for the #BrainHackLucca2024! Join us December 1-5 at @IMTLucca!
Link to the official website: brainhacklucca.github.io
Link to the official website: brainhacklucca.github.io