Abstract Mkid 11

The present study investigated dream recall frequency of 74 male patients with primary alcoholism after acute withdrawal. Patients’ dream recall was slightly elevated. This was explained by their increased frequency of nocturnal awakenings and, therefore, supported the arousal-retrievel model of dream recall. The presence of sleep apnea or myoclonia was also associated with heightened dream recall frequency. Evidence was also found for the salience hypothesis, i.e. low emotional balance in the evening was related with dream recall. The finding that abstinent patients were more often concerned with their nocturnal dreams than relapsers and cases reported in the literature are encouraging further research in order to test whether systematic dreamwork is helpful for these patients.