Genesis Gutierrez

PSYN 320 Psychobiology

Professor Albany Perez
December 10,, 2014
Dreaming and Beyond
Abstract:
This article will provide knowledge on: psychologys historical and modern perspectives
of dreaming, the stages and functions of dreaming according to biological factors, and
psychoanalytical information on the experience of lucid dreaming.
Perspectives of Dreaming:
Since the beginning of time, dreams have been leading a significant role in our
lives. Early philosophers in Ancient Greece and Rome like Aristotle, considered dreams
to be projections of the dreamers body and consciousness. Later during the 19th
century, Sigmund Freud who pioneered psychoanalysis, would theorize that dreams
gave us access to our unconscious repressed conflicts. In addition, psychotherapist
Alfred Adler proclaimed that dreams reflect ones current lifestyle and may offer
solutions to contemporary problems. Modern dream research became popular and
significant when Professor Nathaniel Kleitman and his graduate student Eugene
Aserinsky discovered REM sleep at the University of Chicago in 1953. They
demonstrated that REM sleep was correlated with dreaming through experiments with
sleeping subjects and early brain monitoring devices.

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Dream Stage of REM Sleep:
The REM (Rapid Eye Movement) state is when the brain and body are energized
and so dreaming occurs. A dreamer can typically experience from four to six dream
REM periods in an eight hour night. According to EEG readings a PGO spike, also
known as an electrical pulse, marks the onset of REM and an arousal recognized as
dreaming. For instance, particular neurons in the medulla of the brain has been seen to
increase in activity. During REM, parts of the forebrain undergo a state similar to alert
wakefulness. For example, the visual cortex, which is in charge of vision and
perception, is usually experiencing high levels of activity. The central brain is also
active, which suggests learning and memory processing. Also, other parts of the brain
which are responsible for processing emotions are lighting up in the REM sleep state
that indicates a dreaming stage.
Dream Functions:
We know that during dreaming our brain is experiencing activation patterns that
are constantly shifting and making connections. Dream sleep is associated with
restoring mental well-being in the same way the body restores its energy during REM
sleep. Thus, some studies suggest that dreaming is linked to learning and to the repair
of the mind and body.
According to Alan Hobson, at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center, a key
role in dream sleep appears to be the revitalizing of new and old experiences so that
they become more permanently engraved in our long-term memory. He follows this
theory in a study showing that the exact neuronal firing patterns present when rats

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explored a maze, were repeated precisely when the rats were in the dream sleep.
Therefore, it is possible that dreaming is involved in the function of processing and
storing memories.
Furthermore, it is also noted that the visual and perceptual tasks of the mind are
more related to dream sleep. The Weisman researchers labeled procedural memory
during dream sleep a memory task of the mind that involves learning. Further studies
hypothesize that dreams help us adapt to stressful waking events through habitual
defense mechanisms exhibited during sleep. In all, this suggests that dream sleep has a
function in learning and balancing our body.
The Dream Experience:
Sometimes we may have dreams that appear similar to normal waking-life
experiences and other times we may have dreams that appear to be an altered and
bizarre fantasy. Most humans can recognize the unique state of dreaming. Thus the
following are characteristics commonly attributed to the experience of dreaming. Dream
reports indicate primary use of visual and motion senses through vivid imagery and
content perception. Dreams usually involve a bizarre nature, in which images can
change rapidly and the dreamer can believe he/she is awake in their dreams. Also,
dreams frequently lack orientation stability, which means although they contain many
images and events that are relatively commonplace. Furthermore, the dream
experience seems to be more concerned with emotions. These emotions are mostly
intense feelings like fear-anxiety or a passionate-relief. And there is also an increased
cast of instinctive emotions, which can be affiliated to dream cognition. Lastly, most
dreamers experience their self-control of thoughts, feelings and behaviors as fairly

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common-sense although their control of the actual dream is reduced. However, this is
one characteristic that is challenged on instances of lucidity.
Overview of Lucid Dreaming:
Lucid Dreaming is a transformational state of dreaming in which the dreamer is
aware of their dream state. Many academics have regarded this experience as dream
control. Stephen LaBerge at the Sleep Research Center in Stanford University states
that dream control requires a reflective awareness, which he considers to be
consciousness. Within the lucid dream state, the dreamer recognizes this dream state
and thus capable of rearranging or transforming the dream world according to their
mental state of desires. In other words, the possibilities while in the dream are endless
within the awareness.
The most fascinating features of lucid dreaming are the voluntary and conscious
actions that become available to the dreamer. The most common form of entry into
lucidity for an inexperienced lucid dreamer occurs in a moment of anxiety or a
nightmare. However, for a person looking to initiate lucidity it requires a critical thinking
in testing their degrees of reality and perception while dreaming. Several ways of testing
include: noticing ones hands to perceive if they are accurate or attempting to read
something written to tell if it is distinguishable. Also note, that while awake we never
doubt whether we are awake or not.
Most dreamers who have experience the sensation of lucid dreaming recall
quickly waking to a rush of excited emotion. This is considered the emotional quality of
lucid dreaming. Therefore, Celia Green, an English parapsychologist and pioneer of

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lucid dreaming, stresses the importance of emotional detachment to prolong the
experience and retain a high level of lucidity. In addition, lucid dreams are perceived to
be more vivid than ordinary dreams.
Overall, it is suggested that lucid dreaming can improve the quality of our lives
because it allows for the application of creative problem solving and decision making.
Also, lucid dreaming has been considered a great source of creativity in a wide range of
human endeavors. For example, Robert Louis Stevenson, the author behind The
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde has attributed many of his writings to lucid
dreams. Likewise, several artists including William Blake, Mozart, Tartini and Ingmar
Bergman. Altogether, lucid dreaming acts to contribute to finding oneself through the
element of conscious

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Bibliography
Castle, R. (1994). Our dreaming mind. New York: Ballantine Books. [book]
Kalat, J. (2013). Biological psychology (11th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole
Pub [book]
LaBerge, S. (1985). Lucid dreaming. Los Angeles: J.P. Tarcher [book]
National Institute of Health and Human Development. What is REM sleep? (n.d.).
Retrieved from http://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/sleep/conditioninfo/pages/remsleep.aspx [website]
Scientific American. Dream States: A Peek into Consciousness. (2010, October
28). Retrieved from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/dream-states/?page=2
[website]
Sleep Foundation. Dreams and Sleep. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-topics/dream-and-sleep [website]