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The activation-synthesis hypothesis, proposed by Harvard University psychiatrists John Allan Hobson and Robert McCarley, is a neurobiological theory of dreams first published in the American Journal of Psychiatry in December 1977.
John Allan Hobson (June 3, 1933 – July 7, 2021 [1]) was an American psychiatrist and dream researcher. He was known for his research on rapid eye movement sleep . He was Professor of Psychiatry, Emeritus, Harvard Medical School, and Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
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.
Cholinergic activation of these higher areas was thought to result in the meaningless images that make up our dreams. This process is switched off by noradrenaline and serotonin which are also released by the brain stem. The formation of the Activation-Synthesis Model put forth by Allan Hobson and McCarley in 1975 rested largely on these ...
During his residency at Massachusetts Mental Health Center, he studied with J. Allan Hobson. In 1977, Hobson and McCarley developed the activation synthesis theory of dreaming that said that dreams do not have meanings and are the result of the brain attempting to make sense of random neuronal firing in the cortex. [2]
Hobson's and McCarley's 1977 activation-synthesis hypothesis, which proposed "a functional role for dreaming sleep in promoting some aspect of the learning process...." [44] In 2010 a Harvard study was published showing experimental evidence that dreams were correlated with improved learning. [45]
For this reason, Hobson argues that a high priority should be accorded to brain science supposing that it will help better understand the mind. This is the principle on which Hobson's brain theory of consciousness and formal approach to dream interpretation is based (Hobson, 2018).
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 ...