Metacognition, Top-Down Processing, and Memory Reconsolidation
April 17, 2026 John A. Valenzuela
The authors propose that dream interpretation aims to increase consciousness, linking Jung's symbolic approach to dreamwork with the neurobiology of integration. Symbolic amplification of dream images involves top-down, subjective engagement, while bottom-up dreamwork increases salience, coherence, and subjective self-awareness. Memory reconsolidation in neurobiology can approach the emotional truth of an episodic memory, offering a chance to unlearn symptoms through dreams. The authors argue that dreamwork provides evidence that consciousness arises within the nine domains of integration in interpersonal neurobiology, and that interpersonal neurobiology enhances the relatability of Jung's dream interpretations.