Why we dream: neurological and psychological perspectives

¶ … Dream

When dreams and the purpose of dreaming are discussed, Sigmund Freud's theory of dreaming invariably makes way to the discussion. The reason being that Freud is the pioneer of dreaming theories. Regardless of the content of his theories and their highly controversial nature, Freud is considered a pioneer in the field and his work is assigned utmost critical value. According to Freud, dreams were closely connected with wish fulfillment. It is important to understand that Freud's Interpretation of Dreams that came out in 1900 was only the first version of his theory, he later revised his theory significantly and it is the final form that must be discussed more often. However for some odd reason, it is the first version of his theory without any revisions, which is usually discussed. Sigmund Freud argued that a child witnesses scenes of sexual intimacy that play a huge role in his dreams later in life. He associated dreams with repressed sexual activity and it was through gratification of these wishes that a man obtained pleasure. But since pleasure while sleeping could disrupt sleep, therefore dreams acted as preserver of sleep.

Dreams were thus a way to release tension and stated that, "interpretation of dreams is the royal road to a knowledge of the unconscious activities of the mind" (Freud, 1900, p. 608). In the very first version of this theory, Freud discussed the existence of "psychical instigations to dreaming, left over from waking life, which are other than wishes" (p. 554). He went on to explain what might appear as contradiction of his theory in these words: "the daytime thought, which was not in itself a wish but on the contrary a worry," could not possibly generate a dream (p. 556). In short, his early theory of dream was closely connected with sexual wishes. He felt that release of tension through dreams could help a patient in uncovering his neurosis and treating it. But he later discarded this premise inn 1920 when he confessed that such a treatment had failed to "solve the therapeutic problem . . ." (p. 18). In subsequent revisions of his theory, Freud continued to associate dreams with sexual wishes but added some more dimensions to it finally concluding that: in 1935 that "Aristotle's old definition of the dream as mental life during sleep still holds good. There was reason for my not choosing as the title of my book the Dream but the Interpretation of Dreams" (1925, p. 46).

Freud's work was followed by host of other theories on dreams, which borrowed from, revised and added to his original theory. Long before Freud, Aristotle had discussed the subject of dreaming which the conclusion that human beings are created for activity but since they do need to rest, their mind preserves the important function of activity by staying active and alive. He also tied it to diet and digestion. All parts of his theory may not hold true today but Aristotle's argument of activity has always received considerable attention. Over the years, people have asked numerous questions about dreaming from why we dream to why can't the mind "just shut down and stop caring about tracking the true and the good and take an eight-hour vacation from thinking and feeling anything at all." (Flanagan: 38) Theorists, scientists and thinkers have come up with their own views on dreaming. Dreams are considered "warnings," "premonitions," "announcer of good" and "indicators of future" as well. Many feel that dreams come from a divine power that warns people about the consequences of their actions or tries to put them on a better path by sending messages in the form of dreams. Initially it was believed that REM period was the only time when we dreamt but this theory has been replaced by a more comprehensive one that states that dreams are divided into all parts of our sleep with REM sleep accounting for most of the dreams. Neuroscientist Mark Solms goes back to Freud saying that dreams are connected with preservation of sleep on a statistical level. He doesn't bring wish fulfillment into the equation but does agree with Freud on the subject of preservation of sleep. Solms has come up with an interesting theory, which borrows from other theories but still manages to retain its uniqueness. He argues that there is a neurological pathway in the brain, which is essential for generation of dreams. Any damage to this pathway can not only cease dreaming process but also affect one's motivational powers. Interesting then, he argues that dreams are designed to motivate people to engage in activities and seek fulfillment of their biological needs. He agrees with Panksepp (1985) that the main function of this pathway is to "instigate goal-seeking behaviors and an organism's appetitive interactions with the world' (Panksepp: 273)