Luria’s model of the functional Units of the brain and the neuropsychology of dreaming
Arnoldo Téllez, Teresa J. Sánchez
December 1, 2016 DOI: 10.11621/pir.2016.0407 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Key points | The author proposes that dreaming arises from activation of the First and Second Functional Units and Unit L alongside hypo-functioning of the Third Functional Unit (frontal lobe), producing hallucinatory imagery, disinhibited and non-self-reflexive thought, and poor planning. Dreaming is argued to be a form of natural confabulation, akin to that in frontal lobe damage or schizophrenia, and to serve cognitive-emotional homeostasis. |
Abstract
Traditionally, neuropsychology has focused on identifying the brain mechanisms of specific psychological processes, such as attention, motor skills, perception, memory, language, and consciousness, as well as their corresponding disorders. However, there are psychological processes that have received little attention in this field, such as dreaming. This study examined the clinical and experimental neuropsychological research relevant to dreaming, ranging from sleep disorders in patients with brain damage, to brain functioning during REM sleep, using different methods of brain imaging. These findings were analyzed within the framework of Luria’s Three Functional Unit Model of the Brain, and a proposal was made to explain certain of the essential characteristics of dreaming. This explanation describes how, during dreaming, an activation of the First Functional Unit occurs, comprising the reticular formation of the brainstem; this activates, in turn, the Second Functional Unit — which is formed by the parietal, occipital, and temporal lobes and Unit L, which is comprised of the limbic system, as well as simultaneous hypo-functioning of the Third Functional Unit (frontal lobe). This activity produces a perception of hallucinatory images of various sensory modes, as well as a lack of inhibition, a non-selfreflexive thought process, and a lack of planning and direction of such oneiric images. Dreaming is considered a type of natural confabulation, similar to the one that occurs in patients with frontal lobe damage or schizophrenia. The study also suggests that the confabulatory, bizarre, and impulsive nature of dreaming has a function in the cognitiveemotional homeostasis that aids proper brain function throughout the day.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dreaming: a conceptual framework for philosophy of mind and empirical research | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Metaphor and hyperassociativity: the imagination mechanisms behind emotion assimilation in sleep and dreaming | 2015 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Varieties of Lucid Dreaming Experience | 2000 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Experimental Research on Dreaming: State of the Art and Neuropsychoanalytic Perspectives | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Neurobiology of Consciousness: Lucid Dreaming Wakes Up | 2009 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cites 8
- Anatomic and Behavioral Aspects of Frontal‐Subcortical Circuitsa Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences December 1, 1995
- Neural Correlates of Dream Lucidity Obtained from Contrasting Lucid versus Non-Lucid REM Sleep: A Combined EEG/fMRI Case Study Sleep June 29, 2012
- New perspectives for the study of lucid dreaming: From brain stimulation to philosophical theories of self-consciousness heiDOK (Heidelberg University) 2010
- Neural correlates of insight in dreaming and psychosis. Sleep Medicine Reviews April 1, 2015
- Cognitive and emotional processes during dreaming: a neuroimaging view. Consciousness and Cognition December 2011
and 3 more in the library