Why and What We Dream - Research Paper Example

?Running Head: DREAMS Why and Why and What we Dream Why and What we Dream One of the wonders of human life is the nightly journey into dreams. Dreams can be fantastical, reflective of real life, or even a nightmare in which the fears of the waking life intrude on sleep. Dreams can inspire. They can tie one in knots over the fear they evoke. They can plague a human with memories or wishes unfulfilled until sleep is a terrible experience. They can also bring back the voices of loved ones lost or the memory of a childhood delight. Understanding the nature of dreams is one of the pursuits that human beings have been on for a long time. Dreams have been proclaimed to be supernatural, reflections of daily life, or the reflections of inner desires. Dreams are necessary for existence, a lack of dreaming causing physical harm to the individual. In an examination of the concept of dreams, light is shed on how and why these nightly visitations occur. There are many theories in relationship to the nature of dreams, but no concrete understanding of exactly what dreams do for the individual. There are theories that dreams are the by-product of memory organization, but that is not the only theory that prevails. Other theories are based on the idea that the dream is the byproduct of electrical charges as thoughts become synthesized into organization that makes sense to the mind. The process of REM becomes organic and electric, creating a need for the mind to tune into what the brain function is doing. This has its faults as well, however, as a reasonable explanation for dreams. Dreams are socially relevant in that they are often attached to traditions of spiritualism. In looking for answers about why people dream, it is relevant to look at what they dream about and how it fits into the overall traditions of society as well as the physical rationality of dreaming. The physical relationship to the concept of thought and the translation that this has into the greater context of culture is the realm in which dreams are contemplated. Why do We Dream? Dreams are inspirational, spiritual, and fantastical, but they have physiological and psychological causes. The true nature of dreams is unknown, but some of the ideas that have come to be accepted about dreams is based on the purposes of REM sleep. REM sleep, or rapid eye movement sleep in which an observable movement of the eye beneath the lid is associated with dreams, likely helps in the process of memory. REM is associated with the stage of sleep called slow-wave sleep. One of the ways in which dreams can be viewed is in the act in which new memories are made more permanent (Nevid, 2009). In this view, the nature of dreams is a processing center in which memories are made more long term rather than merely short-lived. Although the dream may not be centered on fresh memories, the processing seems to produce creative production of perceived ideas. Another very popular view of dreams is called activation-synthesis hypothesis. This hypothesis proposes that “dreams represent an attempt by the cerebral cortex to make sense of the random discharges of electrical activity that occur during REM sleep” (Nevid, 2009, p. 143). Hobson in 198i proposed that the cerebral cortex is sending electrical charges through the brain at this time and the memories that are stored are accessed in order to help process those charges. In this theory, the nature of dreams have very little meaning other than to act as processing facilitation for the storm of electrical flashes that the cortex is producing. In this case, the nature of dreams loses its mystery and becomes a part of the brain functions without any supernatural or externalized influence. This conflict of science and tradition creates a great number of problems in the social construct in which dreams are often messages or influences that can predict, inform, or have meaning within the life of the dreamer. There is, however, the factual relationship of control to dreams that instills beliefs about the importance of the content of dreams. Lucid dreaming means that the dreamer has control over the content of the dream. Through cultural traditions about the meaning of dreams and the beliefs that influencing dreams denotes a spiritual connection, lucid dreaming extends the supernatural idea of dreams without losing the science of dreams. That there is a concept of control attached to what Hobson termed as random and meaningless puts theories of activation-synthesis in question. There are some advances of the activation synthesis hypothesis that have been seen in recent research. When participants are studied through PET scans of their cerebral cortex activity during REM sleep there is evidence that the cortex is very active. However, PET scans have also shown that portions of the brain that are responsible for memory, vision, emotion and hearing are also very active. The prefrontal cortex that is associated with rational thought is not active, which might contribute to the fantastical content of dreams. The one factor that conflicts scientifically with activation synthesis hypothesis is that dreams tend to be consistent in their content. If dreams were merely reactions to electrical firing in the brain, the content would more likely be random and inconsistent. In a study of 200 dreams, only 34% of them showed regular inconsistency (Cardwell & Flanagan, 2004). In the activation synthesis hypothesis it is believed that children do not dream until about the age of three and then do not dream as adults dream until the age of seven. The hypothesis does not explain the fact of REM sleep in children, however, which controverts the concept of dreaming in children if it is supportable that dreams are associated with REM sleep (Cardwell & Flanagan, 2004). The concept that Hobson proposed which is accepted as a rational explanation does not support the many factors of sleep that are unexplainable in scientific terms. This explanation completely abandons all belief in something more than physical function in relationship to dreaming. While the science of dreaming is potentially rational, the culture of dreaming remains esoteric and the hope would be explanations that combined the two factors of dreaming. Hobson has advanced his ideas about sleep so that he now supports AIM, which stands for activation input modulators. In this construct, the concept of dreaming still is based upon activation synthesis hypothesis but with the added ideas that external input is relevant to the content of the dream and that high activation is processed during the state of dreaming. Modulators are chemicals such as serotonin and acetylcholine. In REM sleep, high levels of acetylcholine are present while in NREM there is a high level of serotonin. These stimulators create elevations within the brain which can cause the perception of activity while asleep (Cardwell & Flanagan, 2004). What do we Dream? There have been numerous studies on the content of dreams and there emerges patterns that differentiate men from women, who are still different from boys to girls. Girls typically dream about both boys and girls, their pets, homes, the indoors, and fashion. Boys will typically dream about other boys, action, sports, machines, and the outdoors. Women, on the other hand, will typically dream about similar things to girls which include family, relationships, and indoor settings. They will usually remember their dreams. Men, on the other hand, will dream of outdoor settings, still mostly males, strangers, action, and the need to protect someone or something (Tull & Ning, 2000). Regardless of whether dreams are remembered, everyone will dream. In relationship to dreams, memory is a key factor in the cognitive acknowledgement of dreams. Women, as stated, will remember their dreams more often where men may feel that they do not dream because they have no memory of those dreams. Although some people believe that their dreams are in black and white, this is the memory of those dreams, again, more often with men, where it is more likely that all people dream in color and it is the memory of the dream that alters that perception of the dream. Colors seem to be more brightly remembered by people who have a higher awareness of their dreams (Tull & Ning, 2000). Dreams are perceived differently, but are likely similar in nature in relationship to having them and how they are experienced. It is the memory of the dream that differs. Discussion What we dream and why we dream it seems to be relevant to understanding the nature of brain activity. In cracking open the codes of sleep, the nature of the mind can be more fully understood. Through defining the nature of dreams, the nature of emotion, awareness, and memory can all be discovered as they are related in the forms of dreams. Psychological discovery that includes understanding of the brain and its functions will provide for further understanding of how the brain and the mind function as one entity, where in many ways they seem to be so unrelated as the act of thinking sometimes seems remote to the function of the brain. What we dream seems to be specifically related to gender, but in examining gender through dreams it is difficult to understand whether the content of dreams comes through acculturation or through an innate concept of gender that is still illusive. There is much yet to be understood about dreams and about why the male mind is so different than the female. In addition it is important to discover why the memory of dreams is so attached to the awareness of emotions and why this differs so dramatically between men and women. Dreams are still an avenue of research that needs attention. References Cardwell, M., & Flanagan, C. (2004). Psychology A2: The complete companion. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes. Nevid, J. S. (2009). Psychology: Concepts and applications. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. Tull, M. H., & Ning, A. (2000). Dreams: Mind movies of the night. Brookfield, Conn: Millbrook Press. Read More