Dreaming and the dorsolateral frontal lobes : towards a better understanding of the mechanism of dreaming
Master Thesis
2006
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University of Cape Town
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Abstract
The exact mechanism of dream production is still poorly understood. Based on exploratory findings that damage to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex does not cause changes in these patients subjective experience of their dreams (Solms, 1997), a study was conducted in order to investigate the role of this area in dream production. The dreams of seven patients with damage to tile dorsolateral prefrontal cortex were compared with those of normal participants. A content analysis found no significant quantitative differences between the dreams of dorsolateral prefrontal patients and normal controls. In addition, none of the patients with damage to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex reported any subjective changes in their dreams since falling ill. These findings are congruent with those or numerous neuro-imaging studies, which indicate that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is deactivated during dreaming, and provide support for the theory that deactivation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during sleep accounts for many of the formal features of dreams.
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Includes bibliographical references.
Reference:
Badenhorst, T. 2006. Dreaming and the dorsolateral frontal lobes : towards a better understanding of the mechanism of dreaming. University of Cape Town.