Related papers: Why dream? A Conjecture on Dreaming
A number of studies have concluded that dreaming is mostly caused by randomly arriving internal signals because "dream contents are random impulses", and argued that dream sleep is unlikely to play an important part in our intellectual…
The mechanisms underlying major aspects of the human brain remain a mystery. It is unknown how verbal episodic memory is formed and integrated with sensory episodic memory. There is no consensus on the function and nature of dreaming. Here…
There are two contrasting explanations of sleep: as a proximate, essential physiological function or as an adaptive state of inactivity and these hypotheses remain widely debated. To investigate the adaptive significance of sleep, we…
Sleep is considered to play an essential role in memory reorganization. Despite its importance, classical theoretical models did not focus on some sleep characteristics. Here, we review recent theoretical approaches investigating their…
In this note, we present a hypothesis for the emergence of the phenomenon of sleep in organisms with sufficiently developed central nervous systems. We argue that sleep emerges because individual neurons must periodically enter a resting…
Understanding of the evolved biological function of sleep has advanced considerably in the past decade. However, no equivalent understanding of dreams has emerged. Contemporary neuroscientific theories generally view dreams as epiphenomena,…
We have analysed the many facets of Consciousness into two distinct categories. First: the organisational state of the neural networks at any one time, which determines whether a person is conscious - awake, or unconscious - asleep. Second:…
Humans have been aware for thousands of years that sleep comes in many forms, accompanied by different kinds of mental content. We review the first-person report literature on the frequency and type of content experienced in various stages…
This paper examines the phenomenon of daydreaming: spontaneously recalling or imagining personal or vicarious experiences in the past or future. The following important roles of daydreaming in human cognition are postulated: plan…
Visceral theory of sleep states that the same brain neurons, which process external information in wakefulness, during sleep switch to the processing of internal information coming from various visceral systems. Here we hypothesize that a…
To explain consciousness as a physical process we must acknowledge the role of energy in the brain. Energetic activity is fundamental to all physical processes and causally drives biological behaviour. Recent neuroscientific evidence can be…
Sleep has a profound influence on the physiology of body systems and biological processes. Molecular studies have shown circadian-regulated shifts in protein expression patterns across human tissues, further emphasizing the unique…
Sleep is one of the most noticeable and widespread phenomena occurring in multicellular animals. Nevertheless, no consensus for a theory of its origins has emerged. In particular, no explicit, quantitative theory exists that elucidates or…
Sleep paralysis is an experience of being temporarily unable to move or talk during the transitional periods between sleep and wakefulness: at sleep onset or upon awakening. Feeling of paralysis may be accompanied by a variety of vivid and…
Sleep is characterized by non-rapid eye movement (nREM) sleep, originating from widespread neuronal synchrony, and REM sleep, with neuronal desynchronization akin to waking behavior. While these were thought to be global brain states,…
This paper develops a highly simplified model with which to analyze the phenomenon of sleep. Motivated by Crick's suggestion that sleep is the brain's way of ``taking out the trash,'' a suggestion that is supported by emerging evidence, we…
Sleep is commonly studied through neurochemical, evolutionary, and behavioral frameworks, typically emphasizing circadian rhythms and energy conservation. However, these approaches do not fully explain a deeper biophysical question: why…
The nervous system displays a variety of rhythms in both waking and sleep. These rhythms have been closely associated with different behavioral and cognitive states, but it is still unknown how the nervous system makes use of these rhythms…
Cognitive function requires the coordination of neural activity across many scales, from neurons and circuits to large-scale networks. As such, it is unlikely that an explanatory framework focused upon any single scale will yield a…
During sleep, the hippocampus recapitulates neuronal patterns corresponding to behavioral trajectories during previous experiences. This hippocampal replay supports the formation of long-term memories. Yet, whether replay originates within…