IUBio

Robot Dreams

lupa lupawolf at deja.com
Tue Sep 12 00:46:11 EST 2000


In article <8pi2p7$j4t$1 at nnrp1.deja.com>, George Bajszar <gyuri at usa.net> wrote:

> we go to sleep, and the brain if full with garbage data. As we go to
> sleep, the brain slowly shuts off into deep sleep mode. All this is
> controlled by chemical processes.

well, the brain never shuts off, even in deep sleep mode - it's simply
that one kind of brainwave activity decreases, and other types of
brainwave activity become more pronounced.
 
> The purpose of this would be for the brain to identify garbage neurons
> and reset them. Maybe that is why we don't remember dreams typically
> because those neurons that sparked those responses that lead to the
> dream were cleaned up for good from any further signaling.

it's an interesting theory, but doesn't account for quite a bit.  the
first thing that comes to mind is three crosslinked 'habits' of  dreamers
-

1- the dreams you forget upon waking, but then remember in a 'shock' later
in the day
2- non-emotional recurring locations, plots, or themes that have no
reflective property in the dreamer's real life (for instance, a city the
dreamer has never seen but knows the layout due to the frequency with
which their dreams are set there...or consistent themes of revolution in a
person who has only known a stable government)
3- the recurring, deeply emotional dream (normally nightmares)

it also doesn't account for the people who remember dreams and dream
images 5 nights out of 7, nor does it account for the people who
effectively do lucid dreaming practices with no poor side effects in their
cognitive functions...

~risa

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~from risarisabobisa






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