Activation-Synthesis Theory Evaluation

Describe and evaluate one neurobiological and one psychological theory of the function of dreaming

The first neurobiological theory I will look at is the activation-synthesis theory. These theory sees dreams as activation in the brain in the areas to do with perception, action and emotion (which occurs during REM). They are essentially random as there is an external blockade (at the top of our spine resulting in paralysis so we cannot act out our dreams) and an internal blockade as only areas of our brain to do with vision and hearing are activated (not to do with taste and smell). This is why dreams can be interpreted as external stimuli and when we wake up it is the brains ‘quest for meaning’ that’s causes us to believe dreams have a