Dreams

dreams

Mental experiences during REM sleep that have a story-like quality

REM

rapid eye movement

REM dreams

always dream in

Spend more time dreaming in

ability to create

Learning

NREM dreams

don't always dream

not as vivid or fluid

not as story like

based on past experiences

learning

information processing

Dreams help sift, sort, and fix the day's experiences in our memory

physiological function

Dreaming helps preserve and strengthen neural pathways, supporting brain development and maintenance - neurons and synapses

Freud perspective

We can access the unconscious and get a better understanding of self

by analyzing dreams, people could learn more about themselves

wish fulfillment

People fulfill ungratified needs from waking hours through wishful thinking in dreams

day residue

contents of waking life tend to spill over into dreams

symbols

Symbols disguise the true meaning of dreams

Biological and Psychological Model

Emotional processing: responses that might not be experienced in waking life

manifest content

symbols that need to be uncovered

latent content

Finding out the overall message of the dream

activation synthesis model

Dreams are side effects of neural activation that produces “wide awake” brain waves during REM sleep

Rem Behavioral Disorder

People in REM sleep with no muscle paralysis

depression

Individuals with depression tend to enter REM sleep faster than those without

People with depression may spend a longer time in REM sleep

Some antidepressants suppress REM

The frequency of rapid eye movements during REM sleep (REM density) is also higher in individuals with depression

creativity in dreams

dreams provide an opportunity to work through everyday problems; dreams allow people to engage in creative thinking about issues because dreams are not restrained by logic or realism

hippocampus

remember the dreams

cognitive activities

unique to our own experiences

Pons

what allows us to transition into REM sleep and tells muscles to relax

Occipital lobe

active during rem

parietal lobe

Creates the content of dreams and makes dreams feel real

People with damage cannot dream

acetylcholine

helps to make dreams feel real and plays a role in muscle paralysis

dopamine

allows dreams to provoke an emotional response

frontal lobe

in charge of decision-making; no decision-making in dreams - why we do weird things

deja vu

Some people believe they experience this bc they dreamt about it