Katja Valli
PhD, Docent
katval@utu.fi ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5133-8664 |
Areas of expertise
Consciouness; altered states of consciousness; sleep; dreaming; anesthesia; evolutionary psychology
Consciouness; altered states of consciousness; sleep; dreaming; anesthesia; evolutionary psychology
Biography
My research mainly focuses on the simulation theories of the evolutionary function
of dreaming (the threat simulation and social simulation theories), and on understanding the neural mechanisms of conscious experiences
in general, and dreaming in particular.
Research
Consciousness research, Altered states of consciousness, Neural correlates of Consciousness, Sleep and Dreaming, Anesthesia, Evolutionary psychology
Consciousness research, Altered states of consciousness, Neural correlates of Consciousness, Sleep and Dreaming, Anesthesia, Evolutionary psychology
Teaching
I regularly teach courses on sleep, dreaming and other altered states of consciusness, and on evolutionary psychology.
Publications
- A dream EEG and mentation database (2025)
- Nature CommunicationsJournal of Neuroscience
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - State anxiety is associated with hormonal, cardiovascular, and sleep parameters in Finnish postmenopausal womenDreams in the Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Theoretical Perspectives on the Way the Pandemic Affects Dream Contents (2025)
- Maturitas
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Dream function and dream amnesia: Dissolution of an apparent paradox (2024)
- Neuroscience and Biobehavioral ReviewsBJA Open
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Morning tiredness and insomnia symptoms are associated with increased blood pressure in midlife womenEffects of dexmedetomidine, propofol, sevoflurane and S-ketamine on the human metabolome: A randomised trial using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (2024)
- MaturitasEuropean Journal of Anaesthesiology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Nightmares share genetic risk factors with sleep and psychiatric traits (2024)
- Translational Psychiatry
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - The relationship of bispectral index values to conscious state: an analysis of two volunteer cohort studiesUnihalvaus (2024)
- British Journal of Anaesthesia
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Viral simulations in dreams: The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on threatening dream content in a Finnish sample of diary dreams (2024)
- Consciousness and CognitionDreaming
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - COVID-19 on Mind: Daily Worry About the Coronavirus Is Linked to Negative Affect Experienced During Mind-Wandering and Dreaming (2023)
- EmotionJournal of Neuroscience
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Dangerous Waters: The Impact of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami on Survivor Dream ContentNightmare Distress Questionnaire: associated factors (2023)
- DreamingJournal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Decreased Thalamic Activity Is a Correlate for Disconnectedness during Anesthesia with Propofol, Dexmedetomidine and Sevoflurane But Not S-Ketamine (2023)
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - (2023) The Social Science of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Call to Action for Researchers Tuominen Jarno, Revonsuo Antti, Valli Katja
(B2 Non-refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book) - Circulating oxylipin and bile acid profiles of dexmedetomidine, propofol, sevoflurane, and S-ketamine : a randomised controlled trial using tandem mass spectrometry (2022)
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - (2022)
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - ‘No Man is an Island’: Effects of social seclusion on social dream content and REM sleep2022
- British Journal of Psychology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - (2022) Lääkärikirja Duodecim Valli Katja
(D2 Article in a professional compilation book) - Dream Sharing and the Enhancement of Empathy: Theoretical and Applied Implications2021
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Foundations of human consciousness: Imaging the twilight zone2021
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - (2021)
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - On no man’s land: Subjective experiences during unresponsive and responsive sedative states induced by four different anesthetic agents (2021)
- Consciousness and Cognition
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - The dynamics of affect across the wake-sleep cycle: From waking mind-wandering to night-time dreaming (2021)
- Consciousness and Cognition
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)



