THE NIGHTMARE - BIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ORIGINS

Research on the psychological origins and personality correlates of fr equent nightmares suggests that there are three primary categories of nightmares with three distinct etiologies. 1) chronic, lifelong nightm ares that are phenomena of personality, 2) traumatic nightmares relate d to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and 3) drug-induced nightmares. Al l three, however, appear to be related to a hyper-reactivity of the ne rvous system which may have the effect of increasing REM-pressure. Thi s paper evaluates nightmare prevalence in the general population, pers onality characteristics of frequent nightmare sufferers, the relations hip between PTSD and REM-sleep disturbance, and the biochemistry of th e nightmare. Because, firstly, frequent nightmares may be considered m arkers for schizophrenia and because, secondly, nightmares are viewed as a hallmark of PTSD, this material may have important clinical impli cations.