Cognitive neuroscience of dreams
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Scholarly interest in the process and functions of dreaming has been present since Sigmund Freud's interpretations in the 1900s. The neurology of dreaming has remained misunderstood until recent distinctions, however. The information available via modern techniques of brain imaging has provided new bases for the study of the dreaming brain. The bounds that such technology has afforded has created an understanding of dreaming that seems ever-changing; even now questions still remain as to the function and content of dreams.
Preliminary observations into the neurology of dreaming were reported in 1951 by George Humphrey and Oliver Zangwill. Their report noted two cases of brain injury that resulted in the complete or almost complete cessation of dreaming. Both patients had undergone damage to posterior parietal regions, one of which involved predominately the left side of the parieto-occipital areas. Additional effects involved hemianopia, reduced visualization (in waking state), and disturbances in visual memory. Patients reported that their visual images were dim and hard to evoke. Although they reported only two cases, Humphrey and Zangwill offered preliminary ideas about neurological components of dreaming, specifically the association of forebrain areas and the link between visual imaging and the ability to dream.[1]