What do dreams tell us - Research Paper Example

? What Do Dreams Tell Us?      What Do Dreams Tell Us? The American Heritage Dictionary defines a dream as a series of emotions,ideas, sensations, and images, which occur in the mind involuntarily during sleep. There has been great fascination about dreams among philosophers and scientists. However, only recently has the study of dreams been made a type of systematic, scientific inquiry. In spite of great studies and speculation, the cause, purpose and content of dreams is still a mystery. Even though scientific inquiry has offered answers to most phenomena there are lingering questions about what the characterization of different phenomena (Curci & Bernard, 2008). Ancient civilizations and religion classify dreams as portals through which divine revelation and wisdom is received from a supernatural context. However, the first widely accepted explanation about the significance of dreams was introduced by Sigmund Freud in the early 1900s. According to Freud’s classical theory on dreams, dreams are a “pathway to the unconscious,” one of the three elements of human consciousness in Freudian psychology. Why and how do People Dream? The psychoanalytic Theory: Freud was the first scientist to offer a psychological explanation for the basis of dreams. Freud’s psychoanalytic theory on dreams is based on his interpretation of personality. He describes the personality as an element made of three parts including the Id, Ego and Super-ego (Hobson, 1999). The Id is the unconscious, non-socialized part of personality that presents raw desires and natural drives (such as sexual desires). Acquired directly from nature, the Id is primal. In contrast, the Ego develops from worldly interactions, and is a conscious component, shaped by social interactions. In other words, the ego serves the purpose of satisfying personal needs while complying with reality constraints (Domholf, 2005). As such, the Ego supersedes the Id, which cannot restrict itself because of its unconscious nature. Lastly, the super-ego is the quasi-conscious part that limits biological instincts that cause high level emotions, such as guilt. Freud’s personality research suggests that the human personality inhibits natural biological drives generated by the Id at the unconscious level. The raw biological desires such as sexual desires never get fulfilled due to restrictions from the ego and super-ego. According to Freud, this psychological barrier does not eliminate the stress caused by these natural instincts. Instead these competing urges are intense and redirect their energy to activate the brain in an interesting manner. When asleep this results in dreams, that allow these natural urges to be fulfilled (Domholf, 2005). Therefore, a dream is a pathway through which the Id vents its unconscious drives. Studies of brain activation explain the ideology of dreaming. On the other hand, inhibited natural drives and desires are the cause of dreaming. In essence, Freud’s classical theory suggests that dreams are the result of interactions between the Id and the super-ego. The psychodynamic theory proposed by Freud implies that dreams help fulfill hidden wishes. People’s life events and emotions influence their dream’s content. An individual’s day-to-day processes and are reflected in the dream (Domholf, 2005). For instance, a dream about a car accident may indicate hidden fears about being scared of experiencing an accident. This also explains why individuals may dream at night about their day’s previous engagements. In essence, dreams may be a reflection of thoughts, ideas or activities that the dreamer was engaged in before sleeping (Freud & Daniel, 1911). Freud’s Research on Sleep During Freud’s time scholarly research there was no concise explanation for Rapid Eye Movement (REM) and Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) stages in sleep. This was because there was no technology in existence to monitor these responses. Today studies on REM and NREM cycles have revealed new information about dreaming (Hobson, 1999). In response, this has inspired the development contemporary theories on dreaming, based on physiology. The Activation Synthesis Theory The use of the electroencephalogram (ECG) for measuring brain activity has advanced dream theories. Interestingly, physiological activity in the brain is considered as a possible cause of dreams. The most prominent physiological dream theory is named the activation synthesis theory. This theory was first proposed by McCarley, Robert and Allan Hobson in the late 20th Century. Allan and Robert theorized that brain activity during the “Rapid Eye Movement” sleep period triggers the limbic system. The limbic system is responsible for memories, sensations and emotions. This region also includes the hippocampus (The hippocampus serves the purpose of learning and memory. It also converts short-term memory to long-term memory, and thus helps in recall. The part is also responsible for spatial recognition) and amygdala (This part is involved in processes of memory, fear and emotion) (Domholf, 2005; Serendip, 2012). The generation of signals in this process causes the brain to create dreams. Dreams are the products of subjective interpretations made by the brain as it tries to comprehend signal exchange that occurs during sleep. For example, researchers have proposed that a dream of flying is a result of the activation of the vestibular system (Leslie & Robert, 1996). On the other hand, dreams involving visual imagery are attributed to visual cortex activation. What determines the type of dream that individuals have is the part of the brain that is activated during the generation of signals during dream synthesis process. As a result, proponents of the activation synthesis theory believe that dreams can be interpreted in terms of the part of the brain that is activated (Domholf, 2005).The activation synthesis theory has been proven to have very little relation to the synthesis of a dream. However, research results from tests physiological theory supported the facets of this theory. For instance, a person involved in a running dream may experience the sensation of their feet moving, due to the activation of the part of the brain responsible for motor senses. The activated brain area determines the dream type and its content (Hobson, 1995). Other dream theories The psychodynamic and activation synthesis theories are the most popular and comprehensively described dream theories. However, these are not the only dream theories. Other dream theories are: The computer metaphor account theory asserts that dreams are a ‘clean up’ method which the mind reorganizes itself. This is completed by clearing the daily clutter caused by thought processes and day-to-day stimuli. It is similar to the preparation of a home for a fresh day by cleaning up (Newman & Evans, 1964). Another theory argues that dreams come from the brain’s effort to interpret external stimuli received by sensory organs during sleep. For example, audio sounds from ambient music may be incorporated into a dream. This theorization is controversial because it only proposes an inclusion of stimuli in an already initiated dream. This does not state the actual cause of the dream, aside from external stimuli (Hobson, 1999). Another theoretical model proposes that dreams are a psychotherapeutic mechanism through which a person uses to connect to different emotions and thoughts within a safe environment (Hartmann, 1995). Inferences The overall review of dream causation based on the previously mentioned theories explains that dreams do not necessarily predict the future. In fact, they do not have a measured capacity to predict or influence the future on their own. Dreams are a reflection of the recent past and thoughts and actions from this time-span occur as part of a dream’s content (Curci & Bernard, 2008). According to studies, it is common for an individual to dream about a past sad or negative event (Smith & Jeane, 2012). This occurs among soldiers that experience post-traumatic stress as a result of combat (Smith & Jeane, 2012). The stress and strain of war experience leave an inerasable imprint in soldier’s memories that often emerges as dreams. The only relation dreams have with the future events is in relation to future anticipations. Anxiety or strong anticipation of a certain occurrence may mimic natural Id drives within the personality. As a result these emotions may become manifested into images during dreams. Therefore, dreams often symbolize a person’s collective thoughts, actions and future anticipations (Hobson, 1995). Conclusion In conclusion, dreams are a form of perceived simulation that mimics reality by creating a non-existent world. Evidence exists to assert that dreams often reflect thoughts, ideas and physical engagements from the past. Currently, there is very limited objective evidence to prove that dreams reflect future occurrences. However, the only relation that dreams have with future events are thoughts about future events. The cause of dreams, their content and typology can best be explained by Freudian psychoanalytic theory and the activation synthesis theory (Hobson, 1999). Sigmund Freud proposed that dreams reflect ideas, thoughts and drives generated by the Id, but suppressed by the ego. These image-filled brain events provide an outlet for desires and drives from the unconscious. This is supported by reports of manifestations of people’s common fears in dreams. Dreams are only a representation of the brains attempt to “understand” the sensory stimulation that effect different parts of the brain during sleep. In spite of the well-researched dream theories that exist, there are still several dream aspects that cannot be comprehensively explained by these theories. For example, lucid dreaming is an experience where individuals are in a state that they can perceive the ‘real’ world and the dream world. This theory often dubbed “double consciousness” is not yet well explained (Freud & Daniel, 1911).On the contrary, there are cases in which individuals dream about issues or happenings that are totally foreign to their thoughts, experiences and encounters. Many gaps exist in research that investigates origin of dreams, and therefore; there is still more to be done in terms of research. References Curci, A., & Bernard, A. (2008). Dreams, emotions and social sharing of dreams. Cognition and emotion journal, 22(1), 155-167 Domholf, W. (2005). Refocusing the neuro-cognitive approach to dreams: A critique of the Hobson versus Solms debate. Dreaming, 15(1), 3-20. Freud, S., & Daniel, O. (1911).The interpretation of dreams and lucid dreams, 3rd edition, Cornwall, UK: Plain Label Publishers. Hartmann, E. (1995). Making connections in a safe place: Is dreaming psychotherapy? .Dreaming, 5(2), 213-228 Hobson, J.A. (1995). Sleep. New York, NY: Scientific American Library. Hobson, J. (1999). Consciousness. New York, NY: Scientific American Library. Leslie, K. & Robert, O. (1996). Vestibular Dreams: The effect of rocking on dream mentation. Dreaming: Journal of the Association for the Study of Dreams, 6 (1), 1-16 Newman, E., & Evans, C. (1964). Dreaming: An analogy from computers. New Scientist, 419 (1), 577-579. Serendip (2012). Brain structures and their functions, retrieved from http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/kinser/Structure1.html Smith, M. & Jeane, S. (2012). Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). 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