Critically consider two or more psychological accounts of the functions of

dreaming. [24]

In Freud's time, little was known about sleep and dreams. It seemed natural to him to
think of dreams as the pathway to the unconscious, given the bizarre and symbolic
qualities that often are prominent in them. In recent years, though, scientists have
probed sleep and dreaming, and more is now known about their patterns. Some think
we're coming closer to an understanding of why people dream, although the answer isn't
quite the same as Freud envisioned.

The latest neurophysiological theory of dreams, which is in direct opposition with

Freudian concepts, was developed by Drs. Hobson and McCarley. According to their
Activation-Synthesis Model, dreaming is caused physiologically by a dream state
generator, which is located in the brain stem. It is on during REM sleep, while all sensory
input and motor output are blocked, and the neurons in the cerebral cortex are activated
by random impulses that generate sensory information within the nervous system. As
Hobson and McCarley put it: “the activated forebrain then synthesizes the dream out of
internally generated information, trying its best to make sense out of the nonsense it is
being presented with.”

The logic used in the development of the Activation-Synthesis Model stems from the
predictable regularity that is observed in the triggering of a dream state. Hobson and
McCarley stress that the motivating force for dreaming is not psychological but
physiological since the time of occurrence and duration of dreaming sleep are quite
constant, suggesting a preprogrammed, neurally determined genesis.

Hobson’s and McCartey’s treatment of symbol formation is also in direct opposition with
Freudian conception. They believe that “bizarre features” of a dream world are simply a
reflection of the bizarre state of the dreaming brain. That is, in the construction of a
dream “the forebrain may be making the best of a bad job in producing even a partially
coherent dream imagery from the relatively noisy signals sent up to it from the brain
stem.” This implies that dreams have no emotional content since they are triggered only
by sensory and motor aspects of bodily activity.

Hobson’s and McCarley’s notion that “dreams were after all merely senseless, random
accompaniment of the autonomous electrical activity of the sleeping Central Nervous
System” does not provide all the pieces of the broken mirror puzzle. Based on our
knowledge of brain physiology, there is no doubt that the Activation-Synthesis Model is
right by dismissing the Freudian notion that dreams are instigated by a wish. However,
before regarding dreams as meaningless productions, the function of dreams and the
factors that influence their synthesis must be further examined.

Hobson hypothesis that the likely function of dreams has to do with “the sign of
genetically determined, functionally dynamic blueprint of the brain designed to construct
and to test the brain circuits that underlie our behavior - including cognition and
meaning attribution.” Another words, dreaming is a mechanism intended to stimulate
the neural circuits and this stimulation must in some way be critical to normal brain
functioning during the awake state.

Various evidence certainly suggests that dreaming is more than “genetically

determined.” The fact that we, at some times, have dreams with an eloquently
constructed story lines, as well as the fact that dreams do influence behavior in many
instances, point to the idea that higher order mental functioning has the ability to
influence a lower order functioning of the “dream state generator” of the brain stem.

Dreams very often have a profound effect on how one relates to the outside world. Some
dreamers have changed their lifestyles or habits due to a shock experienced in a dream.
Many dreams give people a profusion of various information about themselves and their
relation to the outside world that they couldn’t know from the genome alone.

The case of lucid dreaming, which is the state of dreaming while knowing that you are
dreaming, also shows that there is more to the story than what the Activation-Synthesis
Model can offer. Lucid dreaming has been proven to occur due to technology which lets
people signal through electrodes attached to corners of their eyes (by prearranged eye
movements) when they realize that they are dreaming. If dreams were simply a result of
the forebrain ”making the best of a bad job in producing even partially coherent dream
imagery from the relatively noisy signals sent up to it” from the brain stem, then how
could a person know that they are dreaming, be able to exercise volatile choice in a lucid
dream, or carry out a previously planned course of action in a dream? Also, studies of
lucid dreams indicate that dreamers are at times able to have their own intentions,
ideas, and feelings. These feelings can not simply be attributed to random brain stem
stimulus, but rather they might be a response of some higher order perceptions.

As is evidenced, dreaming has both physiological determinants as expressed by

Activation-Synthesis Model, as well as psychological determinants. These two factors are
played out in astonishingly unique ways in each individual. Therefore, it is hard to
believe that the same symbol that appears in the dreams of two different people actually
means the same thing, if anything at all. The brains of two people are extremely
different, not only due to genetic differences but also due to their relation to the external
world (the experiences of each person are very unique). The other fact that adds to this
uniqueness is how each of their brains uses the input of genes and experience to
synthesize the dream world. Taking all these factors into account, with the added
knowledge of the complexity of the nervous system, it becomes apparent that the notion
of universal dream symbols is quite shaky.

Dreams embody a synthesis of our being that is manifested at both the physiological and
the psychological levels. All these give us a glimpse into what we are like. We have
inside us, through the power of dreaming and imagining, a unique ability to experience
the world like no one else has and to use ourselves as a subject of exploration. The
important thing is to keep dreaming and questioning for the mystery of our
unconsciousness may unravel itself through its own process of discovery.