Dreaming: The Contemporary Theory

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Dreaming The Contemporary Theory
Ernest Hartmann, M.D. Professor of
Psychiatry Tufts University School of Medicine
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I was walking along a beach somewhere. It
wasnt exactly like any of the beaches I know, I
think my friend Jan was with me. Suddenly, a
huge wave reared up out of the ocean and totally
engulfed us. Im not sure what happened after
that. I struggled and struggled to get to the
surface. There was no one else with me. Im not
sure whether I made it, and I awoke, terrified.
3
Fear, Terror A huge tidal wave is coming at
me. A house is burning and no one can get
out. A gang of evil men, Nazis maybe, are
chasing me.
4
Helplessness, Vulnerability I dreamt about
children, dolls dolls and babies all
drowning. He skinned me and threw me in a heap
with my sisters I could feel the pain, I could
feel everything. There was a small hurt animal
lying in the road.
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Guilt A shell heads for us (just the way it
really did) and blows up, but I cant tell
whether its me or my buddy Jack who is blown
up. I let my children play by themselves and
they get run over by a car. I leave my children
in a house somewhere and then I cant find them.
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Grief A mountain has split. A large round hill
or mountain has split in two pieces, and there
are arrangements I have to make to take care of
it. A huge tree has fallen down. Im in this
huge barren empty space. There are ashes strewn
all about.
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How easy is it to find an image picturing emotion?
Easiest Soon after a traumatic event
A stressful situation A
clear major concern ( e.g. a first
pregnancy) A well-understood patient
with known concerns Other patients,
ones own dreams, etc. Hardest Unknown
dreamer. Students dreams etc.
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Scoring for the CI (Central Image)
Dream ID
1. CI? (Y/N)
3. Intensity (rate 1-3)
2. What is it?
4. What emotion?
5. Second emotion?
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I was walking along a beach somewhere. It
wasnt exactly like any of the beaches I know, I
think my friend Jan was with me. Suddenly, a
huge wave reared up out of the ocean and totally
engulfed us. Im not sure what happened after
that. I struggled and struggled to get to the
surface. There was no one else with me. Im not
sure whether I made it, and I awoke, terrified.
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Most Recent Dream
Dream that Stands Out
Most Recent Daydream
Daydream that Stands Out
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Waking Sleep Onset
NREM REM
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CI Intensity
2.50
2.00
1.50
CI Intensity Score
1.00
Mean of Student Group
0.50
0.00
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
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Cases
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CI Scores in the Trauma Group (N10) Versus
Matched Student Control Group (N30)(Mean
S.E.M.)
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CI Scores in Students Reporting Abuse or No Abuse
1.12 1.2
0.65 1.0

• t 2.63, p 0.01

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Methods Participants
9/11 STUDY

• Complete data sets obtained from 44 persons,
  living in the US who have recorded their dreams
  every morning for years.
• 33 women, 11 men. Mean age about 50.

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Methods

• Each participant provided 20 dreams the
  last ten recorded before 9/11 and the first ten
  after 9/11, without any selection or alteration.

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Methods Scoring

• All dreams were scored on a blind basis for CI
  intensity, emotion pictured by the CI,
  dreamlikeness, and vividness.
• Dreams were also scored on three ad-hoc scales of
  content 1) attacks 2) buildings like WTC or
  pentagon 3) airplanes, and on a scale of
  nightmare-likeness

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Results After vs. Before 9/11
Bef Aft Dif t p
CI 1.10 1.28 .18 3.29
.001 one-tailed
Length 12.93 11.88 -1.04 1.3 NS
D-like 4.50 4.54 .04 .47
NS
Viv 4.22 4.24 .02 .17
NS
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Results, continued
Bef Aft Dif t p
Bldgs. .059 .104 .045
1.70 NS
Planes .045 .061 -.016
.85 NS
Attacks .034 .098 .064
2.74 lt.01
NM-like .213 .307 .094 2.28
lt.05
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Conclusions
If we can generalize from these 44 dream
journalers, our dream imagery overall was more
intense after 9/11/01 than before.
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Conclusions (continued)
However, dreams after 9/11/01 were not
significantly longer, more dreamlike or more
vivid. They did not contain more references to
buildings or airplanes. They did contain
slightly more references to attacks and they were
scored as slightly more nightmare-like.
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Conclusions (continued)

• Consistent with previous studies the intensity of
  the dreams central image (CI) appears to be a
  measure of emotional arousal or emotional power.

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• Scoring of Emotions pictured showed a shift
  towards more fear/terror and helplessness/vulner
  ability after 9/11.
• However this was not as clear as the change in
  Central Image Intensity.

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Conclusions

• Finally, there were no exact replays of the
  scenes seen repeatedly on TV, or anything close
  to that, in the 884 dreams.
• A dream makes connections. It is a new
  creative product, not a replay.

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The Contemporary Theory of Dreaming

• 1. Dreaming is a form of mental functioning
  It is one end of a continuum of mental
  functioning that runs from focused waking
  thought, at one end, through reverie and
  daydreaming, to dreaming at the other end.
• ( Mental functioning involves varying
  patterns of activation of the cerebral cortex.)

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The Contemporary Theory of Dreaming

• 2. Dreaming is hyperconnective. At the
  dreaming end of the continuum, connections are
  made more easily, more broadly, and more loosely
  than in waking. Dreaming avoids tightly
  structured, overlearned processes such as
  reading, writing, typing, calculating.

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The Contemporary Theory of Dreaming

• 3. The connections are not made randomly. They
  are guided by the emotions, and emotional
  concerns, of the dreamer.
• 4. The dream, and especially the Central Image
  (CI) of the dream, pictures or expresses the
  dreamers emotion. The intensity of the imagery
  is a measure of the power of the emotion.

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The Contemporary Theory of Dreaming

• 1. Dreaming is a form of mental functioning.
  It is one end of a continuum of mental
  functioning that runs from focused waking
  thought, at one end, through reverie and
  daydreaming, to dreaming at the other end.
• ( Mental functioning involves varying
  patterns of activation of the cerebral cortex.)

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A Continuum of Mental Functioning
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Reasons the dream is sometimes considered
totally different

• Dreams are perceptual not conceptual.
• Dreams are bizarre.
• Dreaming is so real.
• Dreaming is so easily forgotten.
• Dreaming is involuntary we have no control.
• Dreaming is different because were in a
  different state sleep or REM-sleep.

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A Continuum of Mental Functioning
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condensation




thick boundaries






loosening of











categories,











thin bou
ndaries
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A Continuum of Mental Functioning
Directed waking activity Math problem. Catch fly
ball.
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A Continuum of Mental Functioning
Psychoanalysis free association
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A Continuum of Mental Functioning
Inspiration. Discovery. New work of art.
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WAKING ACTIVATION
REM SLEEP ACTIVATION
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Creating a dream in the laboratory

• If a dream involves the picturing of emotion
  (contextualizing emotion), could one create a
  dream or something very dream-like by allowing
  waking imagery (daydream) to develop under the
  influence of strong emotion?

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• Dreams and Daydreams
• The daydreams of students with thin boundaries
  are as dreamlike and as bizarre as the dreams
  of students with thick boundaries.

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Bizarreness Ratings
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Dream-likeness Ratings
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Thick Ss DDs
Thick Ss Ds
Thin Ss DDs
Thin Ss Ds
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• Views of the Mind

Super Ego
thoughts
Ego
emotions
Id
memories
Linguistic Processing Modules
Semantic Processing Modules
Other Modules
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Boundaries in the Mind

• Between different sensory inputs
• Between thought and feeling
• Around thoughts and feelings ( spread)
• Between sleep and waking
• Between dreaming and waking
• Between past, present, future
• Around oneself ( body boundaries)

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Boundaries, continued

• Ego boundaries
• Interpersonal boundaries in family, etc.
• Between male and female
• Between old and young
• Group boundaries ethnic, race, nation..
• Boundaries in organizing ones life
• Bs in philosophy the true, the beautiful,
  the good

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THICK THIN

• Keep things separate
• Distinct categories
• Absolutes. Definite.
• Black-or-white
• Solid member of one group
• Persevering
• Reliable

• Together
• Merging
• Flexible, it depends
• Shades of grey
• Many groups
• Imaginative
• Creative

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A person with very thick Bs

• I am awake or Im asleep. Thats it. No
  in-between states.
• I dont let my emotions interfere with my
  thinking. They get in the way.
• Im a man, youre a woman. Vive la difference!
• The accused is guilty, or hes innocent! A
  person is sane, or insane! No in-betweens.
• A good relationship ( or organization) is one
  where everything is clearly defined.
• My group is this way. Other groups are totally
  different. Groups should remain separate.

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A person with very thin boundaries

• Sometimes Im not sure whether Im awake, or
  still asleep and dreaming.
• Theres no such thing as thought without emotion.
  My emotions are always involved
• Im a man, but theres a lot of feminine in me
  too.
• Were all a little bit crazy. There are no sharp
  dividing lines.
• Im a member of group A, but also sometimes
  groups B and C. Groups should mix more.

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Measuring Boundaries the BQ

• The Boundary Questionnaire ( BQ) is a 138-item
  questionnaire, covering many different categories
  of boundaries.
• The BQ has been taken by at least 10,000 people
  by now.

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Boundaries and Dreams

• Overall there is a positive correlation between
  Sumound ( thinness of Bs) and dream recall
  frequency. Many studies.
• Overall people with thin Bs have longer, more
  vivid, more dream-like, more emotional, more
  bizarre dreams, and dreams with more intense
  Central Images. (CI score).

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Boundaries and Dreams

• Sumbound ( thinness of Bs) is significantly
  correlated with dream recall frequency, but the
  rs are modest ( r .2 to .5).
• Correlation is more definite, rs are higher,
  when less noise. Thus r .58 in members of
  IASD ( N 42).
• Or, when well-defined groups of Ss are compared,
  rather than individual Ss.

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Boundaries and Dreams

• Frequent dream recallers ( 7/wk) have much
  thinner boundaries (in all 12 categories) than
  non-recallers (/- none).
• Dreams reported by people with thin Bs are
  longer, more vivid, dreamlike, emotional than
  those in people with thick Bs (Three studies)
• Dreams reported by people with thin Bs have more
  powerful Central Images (Two studies).

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Boundaries and Dreams

• People with thin boundaries have been called
  dreamers as opposed to people with thick
  boundaries (thinkers). Of course this is only
  relative. Everyone thinks and probably everyone
  dreams, but those with thin Bs do or at least
  remember -- more dreaming and probably
  daydreaming, and are more comfortable with those
  forms of mental functioning.

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A Continuum of Mental Functioning
People with thick boundaries spend more time at
the left end of the continuum (focused waking).
Those with thin boundaries spend more time in and
are more comfortable with the right end
(daydreaming and dreaming).
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A Continuum of Mental Functioning
Thick boundary functioning.Thin boundary
functioning
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Emotion and the Continuum
Fantasy, Day- Dreaming, Reverie
Looser Waking Thought
Focused Waking Thought
Dreaming

• EMOTION

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The Continuum at the Cerebral Cortex

• The focused-waking-activity-to-dreaming continuum
  refers to patterns of activation in the cortex.

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1. Regions of Activation
Looser thought
Focused thought
Daydreaming
Dreaming
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2. Spread of Activation Within a Region
Looser thought
Focused thought
Daydreaming
Dreaming
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3. Single Units as a Network
Looser thought
Focused thought
Daydreaming
Dreaming
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The Contemporary Theory of Dreaming

• 2. Dreaming is hyperconnective. At the
  dreaming end of the continuum, connections are
  made more easily, more broadly, and more loosely
  than in waking. Dreaming avoids tightly
  structured, overlearned processes such as
  reading, writing, typing, calculating.

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We do not dream of the three Rs Reading,
wRiting and aRithmetic

• I 456 dreams from five studies
• Exact agreement between two scorers
• No instance of reading
• No instance of writing
• One ( probable) instance of arithmetic

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We do not dream of reading, writing and
arithmetic II

• Results from 250 good dream recallers
• (Questionnaire study)

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RESULTS Question A (Frequency of the 3 Rs in
dreams) READING 48 of subjects said never, and
an additional 36 said hardly ever, although
the group spent 150 94 minutes per day
reading. WRITING 56 of Ss said never and an
additional 36 said hardly ever, although this
group spent 106 87 minutes per day
writing. TYPING 75 of Ss said never and an
additional 19 said hardly ever, although this
group spent 98 97 minutes per day
typing. CALCULATING 73 of Ss said never and
an additional 22 said hardly ever, although
this group spent 23 29 minutes per day
calculating.
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Relative Prominence Scores for Six Activities X
S.E.M.
6
5
4
3
2
1
Walking Writing Talking
Reading Sexual Typing
with Friends Activity
Questionnaire study in 250 frequent dreamers.
The scale on the left runs from 1 The activity
is far more prominent in my waking life it
hardly occurs in my dreams, to 7 The activity
is far more prominent in my dreams it hardly
occurs in my waking life.
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The Contemporary Theory of Dreaming

• 3. The connections are not made randomly. They
  are guided by the emotions, and emotional
  concerns, of the dreamer.
• 4. The dream, and especially the Central Image
  (CI) of the dream, pictures or expresses the
  dreamers emotion. The intensity of the imagery
  is a measure of the power of the emotion.

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The Contemporary Theory of Dreaming Functions

• 5. The making of connections, making new
  connections guided by emotion probably has an
  adaptive function. It weaves in or integrates
  new material. In other words new experiences,
  especially if they are traumatic, stressful,
  emotional, are integrated, interconnected into
  existing memory stores ( in the cortex).
  
• And making new connections can be adaptive in
  self-knowledge, discovery, creation.

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Is Dreaming Psychotherapy?

• Making connections in a safe place.

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The Contemporary Theory of Dreaming (Functions)

• 6. In addition to this specific function of
  dreaming, the entire focused waking-to-dreaming
  continuum has an adaptive function. It is
  obviously useful and adaptive for us to be able
  to think in a focused, serial-processing manner
  at certain times, and at other times to associate
  more broadly, loosely, creatively in other words
  to daydream and dream.

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Collaborators, Co-workers
Harrison, Robert Hauri, Peter
Clark, J.
Adelman, S. Adinolfi, Sherry Angel,
Corrine Baddour, A. Banar, M. Barrett,
Deirdre Basile, Robert Beresen, L Cohen, R
Bernstein, Jack Bevis, Judith Blitz,
Robert Brezler, Tyler Brune, Patricia Bulkeley,
Kelly Burr, A. Carpenter, John Cartright,
Rosalind Chapwick, M.
Cole, Jonathan Cooper, Steven Cravens,
James Cutler, J. Dawani, Hannah Ducey,
Charles Eddins, M. Edelberg, R. Elkin,
Rachel Falke, Roberta Forgione, Albert Garg,
Mithlesh Glaubman, Hananyah Grant, William Grace,
Nancy Greenwald, David .
Hengst,William Holevas, Adele Houran,
James Hurwitz, Irwin Keller-Teschke, M. Kleman,
Gerold\ Knudson, Roger Kramer, Milton Krippner,
Stanley Krueger, Charles Kunzendorf,
Robert LaBrie, Richard Latraverse, T. Lindsley,
Gila MacFarlane, J. Mattle, L. McNamara, Patrick
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Collaborators, Co-workers
Sivan, Ilana Skoff, Barry Spinweber,
Cheryl Stickgold, Robert Teschke, M. Thalbourne,
M. Thomas, L. Treger, F. Vaillant, George Van der
Kolk, Bessel Ware, Catesby Watson,
Robert Zborowski, Michael
Moulton, H. Murphy, M. Myers, B. Newsom,
M. Oldfield, Molly Pavia, Holly Rand,
William Regestein, Quentin Rosen, Rachel Russ,
Diane Shannon, R. Sherry, Sally Sivan,
Ilana Skoff, Barry Latraverse, T. Lindsley,
Gila MacFarlane, J.
Marsden, Herbert Mehta, N. Milosfsky,
Eva Mitchell, William Moldofsky, Harvey
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Engine Wheels Metal
Gasoline Highways A
Journey Motion Beginnings,
ends Goal Brakes Speed
Start-stop Obstacles In
control, out of control Crash? Exhilarati
on, danger
TRUCK
CAR IN MOTION
RELATIONSHIP
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Dreams and poems

• Is the Objective Correlative of the poem the same
  as the Central Image of the dream?

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• I should have been a pair of ragged claws
  Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.

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• Let us go then, you and I,
• When the evening is spread out against the sky,
• Like a patient etherized upon a table.

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• And What rough beast, its hour come
• round at last,
• Slouches toward Bethlehem to be born?

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Coleridge

• In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
• A stately pleasure dome decree
• Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
• Through caverns measureless to man
• Down to a sunless sea.

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Ezra Pound

• Melopoieia
• Phanopoieia
• Logopoieia

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Shakespeare

• The poets eye, in a fine frenzy rolling..
• Such tricks has strong imagination,
• That, if it would but apprehend some joy,
• It comprehends some bringer of that joy
• Or in the night, imagining some fear,
• How easy is a bush supposed a bear.

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The Emotion-Imagery Bridge

• Dreamers
• emotion
• 
  Dream
• 
  Image (CI)
• Listeners or Scorers
• Emotion
  

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The Emotion-Imagery Bridge

• Poets
• Emotion
• 
  Poems
• 
  Image
• Readers
• (audiences)
• Emotion
  

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Art ( from the Encyclopedia Brittanica)

• The creation of a work of art is the bringing
  together of a new combinations of elements in the
  medium (tones in music, words in literature
  paints in painting , and so on.). Creation is
  the re-combination of pre-existing materials.
• . guided by the artists emotion.

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I suggest that the creation of a work of art
relies on the same basic mechanism we have
identified in dreaming making new connections
guided by emotion.