Introduction: Establishing a Context, Providing an Overview

Abstract

This book presents a detailed statement of the neurocognitive theory of dreaming, along with the empirical findings that support it.The theory has three levels.It begins with the neural substrate that subserves dreaming.Next, the specific cognitive processes supported by this neural substrate are outlined.Finally, the dream reports that research participants provide, either verbally or in writing, are used to carry out quantitative studies of dream content.The neurocognitive theory of dreaming is therefore based on "three distinct, but fundamentally interrelated, levels of analysis," which are generally considered to be the hallmarks of much current theorizing in cognitive neuroscience (Ochsner & Kosslyn, 2014b, p. 2).There is an underlying neural substrate, along with the cognitive processes that the underlying substrate supports.Finally, a neurocognitive theory has a behavioral level, which in the case of dreaming can only mean verbal and written dream reports.There are numerous links between levels, and more links are likely to be discovered (Ochsner & Kosslyn, 2014a, pp.478-479, 481).The theory also has a developmental dimension.The neural substrate that supports dreaming matures only gradually during childhood and early adolescence.The cognitive skills necessary for dreaming also develop very gradually.As a result, the dreams reported by children and adolescents in controlled laboratory settings change in frequency, complexity, and content until the participants reach middle adolescence.Different groups of researchers in different disciplines carried out the studies that are the basis for the neurocognitive theory of dreaming.Since the theory draws upon a multiplicity of sources, it is first and foremost a synthesis.It is therefore useful to proceed in a step-by-step fashion.