The neurocognitive theory of dreams at age 20: An assessment and a comparison with four other theories of dreaming.

On its 20th anniversary, the neurocognitive theory of dreaming is evaluated against four other theories with a neural dimension: Freudian, activation-synthesis, memory-consolidation, and threat-simulation theories. The neurocognitive theory uniquely integrates findings from three strands of research—neural substrate, dream development in children, and adult dream content—whose key building blocks have been replicated by independent investigators. Unlike the other theories, it includes a developmental dimension and accords with established findings on dream content. Neuroimaging has strengthened the theory by showing that the neural substrate enabling dreaming is a subsystem of the default network, which supports imagination when awake and includes hubs of the waking self-system, explaining the focus on personal concerns. Dreaming is characterized as an intensified, enhanced form of spontaneous thought and an "embodied simulation."

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Abstract

This article assesses the neurocognitive theory of dreams on the occasion of its 20th anniversary. The theory synthesizes findings from 3 strands of dream research, which focus respectively on the neural substrate that subserves dreaming, the development of dreaming in children, and quantitative findings on adult dream content, all 3 of which are necessary ingredients in any theory in cognitive neuroscience (Ochsner & Kosslyn, 2014). The article compares the current standing of the theory with that of 4 other theories with a neural dimension: the Freudian, activation-synthesis, memory-consolidation, and threat-simulation theories of dreaming. It concludes that the neurocognitive theory differs from the other 4 in that many of its key building blocks were created and have since been replicated by independent investigators in 3 different research areas. The other theories lack a developmental dimension, and their claims sometimes do not accord with established findings on dream content. On the other hand, the neurocognitive theory has been strengthened by neuroimaging findings revealing that the neural substrate that enables dreaming is a subsystem of the default network, which supports imagination in waking; it also includes key hubs in the waking self-system, which may help explain the focus on personal concerns in dreams. This subsystem of the default network, when unconstrained and activated, leads dreamers to experience themselves as being in hypothetical scenarios that include vivid sensory environments, which also usually portray interpersonal interactions. Dreaming is an intensified and enhanced form of spontaneous thought that can be characterized as an “embodied simulation.”