Dream and Sleep

Research Lines of the Group Documented by Publications (2020–2026)

• EEG study aimed at designing and reproducing soundscapes to facilitate sleep. Part of the research focused on optimizing the development of soundscapes and validating them in a laboratory setting, with the ultimate goal of their potential clinical application. The experimental work involved a multidisciplinary team of researchers with expertise in experimental psychophysiology and sleep medicine, acoustic engineering, sound synthesis, and composition.
• EEG study investigating the role of different sleep stages in learning processes and memory consolidation.

Principal Investigator:

Prof.ssa Miranda Occhionero

ERC Sectors

• SH4_5 Attention, perception, action, consciousness
• SH4_6 Learning, memory; cognition in ageing
• LS5_8 Neural basis of behaviour

Selected Publications

• Costa, M., Andreose, A., Barzetta, F., Beracci, A., Fabbri, M., Ferri, R., Gigli, V., Giudetti, F., Grimaldi, M., Martoni, M., Natale, V., Prodi, N., Tonetti, L., Visentin, C., & Occhionero, M. (2025). Slow pentatonic sequences facilitate sleep onset. Psychology of Music, 54, 1–18. (Open Access)
• Fabbri, M., Occhionero, M., Tonetti, L., Costa, M., Giudetti, F., Rasch, B., & Natale, V. (2025). Music cue during slow wave sleep improves visuospatial memory consolidation. Journal of Sleep Research, 34(3), e14372. https://doi.org/10.1111/jsr.14372
• Costa, M., Visentin, C., Occhionero, M., Tonetti, L., Prodi, N., & Natale, V. (2024). Pentatonic sequences and monaural beats to facilitate relaxation: An EEG study. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, Article 1369485, 1–17. (Open Access)
• Occhionero, M., Tonetti, L., Giudetti, F., & Natale, V. (2024). Activity-Based Prospective Memory in Insomniacs. Sensors, 24, 3612. https://doi.org/10.3390/s24113612
• Occhionero, M., Fabbri, M., Tonetti, L., Martoni, M., & Natale, V. (2021). Time Course of Sleep Inertia Dissipation in Memory Tasks. Applied Sciences, 11, 3354. https://doi.org/10.3390/app11083354

Research Funding

• Tech Fast 2021 Call, funded by the Lombardy Region (Regione Lombardia) – ID 315684 – CUP: E49J22000680007.

National and International Scientific Collaborations

• University of Ferrara (Italy) – Prof. Nicola Prodi
• IRCCS Oasi Maria SS., Troina (Enna, Italy) – Prof. Raffaele Ferri
• University of Fribourg (Switzerland) – Prof. Björn Rasch

Editorial Activities

Editorial Board Member

• Behavioral Sleep Medicine (V. Natale)
• Biological Rhythm Research (V. Natale; L. Tonetti)
• Brain Sciences (V. Natale)
• Brain Sciences – Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Section (L. Tonetti)
• Journal of Sleep Medicine and Disorders (V. Natale)
• International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (M. Fabbri)
• Brain Sciences – Behavioral Neuroscience Section (M. Fabbri)

Review Editor

• Brain Sciences (L. Tonetti, M. Occhionero)
• Consciousness and Cognition (M. Occhionero)
• Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences (M. Occhionero)
• Behavioral Sciences (M. Occhionero)
• Frontiers in Neurology (V. Natale, L. Tonetti)
• Frontiers in Psychiatry (V. Natale, L. Tonetti)
• Frontiers in Psychology (L. Tonetti)
• Frontiers in Psychology – Addictive Behaviors (M. Fabbri)
• Frontiers in Sleep – Sleep, Behavior and Mental Health (M. Fabbri)

Membership in Scientific Societies and Professional Associations

• AIMS (Italian Academy of Sleep Medicine) – Prof. Vincenzo Natale, Prof. Lorenzo Tonetti, Prof. Marco Fabbri
• AIP (Italian Association of Psychology) – Prof. Marco Fabbri
• ISSID (International Society for the Study of Individual Differences) – Prof. Marco Fabbri
• AIP ONIRI (Sleep, Rhythms, and Biopsychosocial Well-being Section) – Prof. Marco Fabbri