Introduction
Sleep is an essential need for all human beings across all cultures. Throughout history, various religions and societies have tried to interpret what dreams during unconscious sleep really mean. Are they really prophetic messages or windows into a hidden compartment of the mind? And what are our brains doing during sleep? Are our emotions in dreams the same as emotions in a conscious, awake state? Does the brain process the emotion as a real “feeling” or is it just an illusion our brain creates to make the stories of dreams more realistic?
Understanding this idea can help us to define what an emotion is more precisely. It can give us an understanding if emotions are always correlated to the same brain region in different conscious states. Also, it gives psychologists more of a window into the importance of dreams themselves. Dreams could prove to increase emotional intelligence if emotions are in fact proven to not to be cranial illusions or they could give a broader purpose to why we dream in the first place. If dreams are in fact delusions created in the brain during REM, why? Research can be pursued to understand the evolutionary need for these illusions in the brain and what purpose they really do serve.
This experiment serves to prove if the emotions we experience in our dreams actually correlate with emotions during conscious and semi-conscious states. Using fMRI machines, experimenters will record brain activity to see where induced emotions occur in the brain and their specific brain regions. A sleep clinic will be used prior to any emotional induction to measure the amount of sleep movement subjects perform to see which individuals move too much for accurate reads so they can be retrained if need be in the...
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... emotion: A meta-analytic review.
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All mammals exhibit Rapid-Eye-Movement, or REM, sleep, and yet on certain levels this type of sleep would seem to be disadvantageous. During REM sleep, which is when most dreams occur, the brain uses much more energy than during non-REM (NREM) sleep. (1) This "waste" of energy coupled with the increased vulnerability of this state on account of the body's paralysis at this time suggests that there must be a very important reason, or reasons, for the existence of REM sleep and in extension of dreams. Determining the function of dreams, however, has proved very problematic with many arguments which directly oppose each other. Some of the primary functions of dreaming have been tied to is role in development, its production of neuro-proteins, and also to how it may allow for the "rehearsal" of neurons and neuronal pathways. The influence of dreaming on learning is one of the hottest debates. Some argue that dreams aid in learning, others that dreams aid in forgetting, and yet others that dreams have no effect on learning or memory. That REM sleep seems to aid in development might argue that REM sleep may be connected to learning. It seems that most scientists believe that REM sleep aids in certain memory consolidations although some argue that it actually leads to "reverse learning.
Rasch, B., & Born, J. (2008). Reactivation and consolidation of memory during sleep. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17, 188-192. doi: 10.1111/j.14678721.2008.00572.x
...ep. There are events in sleep that are associated with synaptic modification, which is the basis of brain rewiring that enhances cognition. There is evidence that sleep accelerated transcription of cortical genes that are associated with protein synthesis9. These newly generated proteins are known to be required for strengthening of existing synapses and building new synapses. Studies have found increase of factors associated with brain-plasticity and enhanced learning during sleep5. These factors include phosphorylated or activated CREB, a transcriptional factor, as well as Arc, BDNF, and NGFI-A. These evidence help explain how sleep can influence brain rewiring through synaptic modification. This mechanism helps explain how sleep can modify the brain and ultimately enhance learning. This is a strong evidence that supports the synaptic downscaling hypothesis.
markedly increased tonic and phasic EMG activity during REM sleep Clinically, RBD usually responds exquisitely and persistently
Sleep is defined as a period of reduced activity in which an individual’s response to his/her environment is decreased (Healthy Sleep, n.d.) The body undergoes fluctuations in brain wave activity, breathing, heart rate and other functions. These changes occur during two main stages of sleep. Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is the stage in which dreaming typically occurs and absorption of newly learned information takes place. The deep restorative sleep known as slow-wave sleep consolidates memories (Healthy Sleep, n.d.) Recent studies have found that some individuals may not experience both stages of sleep. This can contribute to problems in learning, memory and brain restoration.
Sleep is defined as a reversible, natural state of reduced responsiveness to external stimuli and relative inactivity, accompanied by a loss of consciousness1. This state of inactivity has been evolutionary conserved across species against many selection pressures. This suggests that sleep holds a vital function. Multiple studies have suggested that sleep enhances both declarative and procedural memory 2,3. Consequently, memory consolidation is one of the ostensible functions of sleep. The active system consolidation hypothesis and the synaptic homeostasis hypothesis (SHY) are the two main hypotheses for this putative function of sleep. The active system consolidation model proposes that the repeated reactivation of newly encoded representations in the hippocampus during slow wave sleep (SWS) drives a transfer of memory traces from short-term store in the hippocampus to neocortical regions for long term storage4. These representations are stabilized in the neocortex during subsequent periods of REM sleep by synaptic potentiation5. SHY proposes that sleep acts to homeostatically renormalize synaptic weight to counteract the potentiation that occurs during wake6,7. This occurs by an activity dependent downscaling of synaptic weight during SWS. These models are often portrayed in direct opposition, largely due to the active potentiation proposed in the active system consolidation model, in contrast to the global downscaling (depotentiation) of SHY. However it has recently been considered that these two models may not be mutually exclusive, but could act in unison8. This essay will analyse what I believe to be the best evidence in support and against each model to contend the role of sleep in memory consolidation. The rol...
Dreams have been thought to contain significant messages throughout many cultures. A dream is an unfolding sequence of perceptions, thoughts, and emotions that is experienced as a series of real-life events during sleep. The definitions of dreams are different among studies, which can also lead to quite different results. Perhaps, the dream interpretation has becoming increasingly popular. In this paper, I will talk about what I have learned about three different views of dream interpretations. One theory made by Sigmund Freud who believed that dreams are triggered by unacceptable repressed wishes, often of a sexual nature. He argued that because dreams we experience are merely disguised versions of people real dreams. The other theory called activation–synthesis theory, made by Allan Hobson and Robert McCarley, based on the observation that during REM sleep, many brain-stem circuits become active and bombard the cerebral cortex with neural signals. The last theory, proposed by William Domhoff, is called the neurocognitive theory of dreaming, which demonstrates that dream content in general is continuous with waking conceptions and emotional preoccupations. Thus, dreaming is best understood as a developmental cognitive achievement that depends upon the maintenance of a specific network of forebrain structures. While each theory has different belief system and approach method, it is a great opportunity to know how former psychologists contributed to the field of dream interpretation.
Dreams are series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person’s mind during sleep. Dreams occur during a certain stage of sleep known as REM. Several different psychologists, including Freud and Hobson, have studied dreams. Psychologists have provided many theories as to what dreams are and the meanings behind them.
All over the world different people, scientists, and civilizations have different dream theories. For instance, the Senoi tribe in Malaysia has a fascinating tradition of dream telling. Every morning the people of the tribe begin their day by discussing and interpreting their dreams with each other. The children, as they grow older, actually learn to control their dreams by simply wishing bad dreams into positive ones. It is observed that, by paying tribute their dreams, the people of the Senoi tribe learn to have faith in themselves. Also, they have very few, if any, mental problems “could working constructively with dreams be part of the answer” to mental issues? (Peirce)
There has never been an exact answer as to why people experience seemingly random series of images, thoughts, and sensations in their sleep. People have been dreaming since the beginning of time, but for some reason, nobody has figured out why the human’s brains are so active, even in their sleep. Dreams can be essentially anything, from dreaming about falling to dreaming about being a princess. Although, dreams seem harmless they can be a problem for some, as they can take the form of nightmares, and affect individual’s sleeping habits. Several theories about dreaming have been developed over the past hundreds of years.
Many people choose to believe their dreams provide an unknown meaning awaiting discovery. Many trusted and credited theorist provide persuasive arguments that seem reasonable and enticing. The brain is such a complex organ that the theories regarding the unknown workings of it seem reasonable. There are many functions of the brain that remain unknown especially during the sleep cycles. It would be much more perplexing if dreams provided insight to the future or were attempts from the brain to work through our inner personal distress.
Technological advancements such as the electroencephalograph (EEG), that can measure activity of the sleeping brain, have facilitated various theories to explain the necessity of and the purpose of sleep. Sleep studies measure brain waves (EEG), eye movements (EOG), and muscle skeletal activity (EMG) using a polysomnography.
During prescientific days, dreams were interpreted as ‘manifestations’ of a ‘higher power’. Since the introduction of psychology, dreams have had 4 distinct interpretations. The first interprets dreams as a “liberation of the spirit from the pressure of external nature”. The second interprets dreams as “accidental disturbances from ‘internal organs’. The third interprets dreams as a foretelling of the future. The last interpretation is Freud’s. He interprets dream as an expression of subconscious desires.
Despite the large amount of time we spend asleep, surprisingly little is actually known about sleeping and dreaming. Much has been imagined, however. Over history, sleep has been conceived as the space of the soul, as a state of absence akin to death, as a virtual or alternate reality, and more recently, as a form of (sub)consciousness in which memories are built and erased. The significance attributed to dreams has varied widely as well. The Ancient Greeks had surprise dream encounters with their gods. Native Americans turned to their dreams for guidance in life. Shamans dreamed in order to gather information from the spirits.
Rasch, Björn, and Jan Born. "About Sleep 's Role in Memory." Physiological Reviews. American Physiological Society, n.d. Web. 06 May 2016.