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Hobson and McCarley originally proposed in the 1970s that the differences in the waking-NREM-REM sleep cycle was the result of interactions between aminergic REM-off cells and cholinergic REM-on cells. [5] This was perceived as the activation-synthesis model, stating that brain activation during REM sleep results in synthesis of dream creation. [1]
One popular theory as to the reasoning behind dreams is Hobson's activation-synthesis theory. This theory states that while sleeping we cycle through REM (rapid eye movement) periods about every 90 minutes. During these periods various neurotransmitters fire off, causing dreams.
According to the activation-synthesis hypothesis proposed by Robert McCarley and Allan Hobson in 1975–1977, control over REM sleep involves pathways of "REM-on" and "REM-off" neurons in the brain stem. REM-on neurons are primarily cholinergic (i.e., involve acetylcholine); REM-off neurons activate serotonin and noradrenaline, which among ...
This includes the activation synthesis theory—the theory that dreams result from brain stem activation during REM sleep; the continual activation theory—the theory that dreaming is a result of activation and synthesis but dreams and REM sleep are controlled by different structures in the brain; and dreams as excitations of long-term memory ...
Activation here is seen in the temporal lobe, again a forebrain area. [6] [10] The evidence of the involvement of mesolimbic and mesocortical dopaminergic pathways suggests that dreaming occurs when a motivational component is activated. Only when this pathway is removed do dreams cease to occur.
Reverse learning is a neurobiological theory of dreams. [1] In 1983, in a paper [2] published in the science journal Nature, Crick and Mitchison's reverse learning model likened the process of dreaming to a computer in that it was "off-line" during dreaming or the REM phase of sleep. During this phase, the brain sifts through information ...
There are also criticisms of the two-factor theory that come from a theoretical standpoint. One of these criticisms is that the Schachter-Singer Theory centers primarily on the autonomic nervous system and provides no account of the emotional process within the central nervous system aside from signaling the role of cognitive factors.
Since dreaming occurs during REM sleep, the PGO waves are theorized to be the signals that make the brain start to recount the experiences from the previous day. This, in turn, allows us to "see" our dreams since our visual sense is quickly going through the information it has stored.