User:Skyler Paul/sandbox

Dreams as Adaptive Simulations
           There is no single consensus as to why humans dream, except that dreaming, is universal across all cultures. Dreaming is a phenomenological process, the function of which is highly debated. Dream research in the framework of evolutionary psychology should show a clear evolutionary advantage to dreams, ultimately increasing fitness. If there is no clear and direct biological advantage, dreaming could be theorized as a byproduct of some other higher-level brain function. The focus here will be the occurrence of dreams limited to the REM stage of the sleep cycle, but this does not suggest dreams within other states are not equally important or adaptive

Dream theory is generally dichotomized into two schools of thought, the first in the framework of life history theory, in which dreams have an adaptation resulting in increased fitness and reproduction or the framework of spandrel or a secondary product of some other adaptation. Within the field of psychological anthropology, dreams are “taken as a trait”, meaning dreams can be defined from other existing features. Theoretically this is important because dreams are a trait which has been selected for or simply an aftereffect of another trait. There might not simply be one overarching function of dreams, in fact, the adaptation of dreaming could be multifunctional. From Freud’s idea of repression of a taboo desire to Hobson’s concept of a Bayesian model of schema downloads. However, these theories may emerge not to be in opposition, but rather, work well in conjunction with each other. Both theories may prove equally adaptive for humans as life-history theory continues to sort out the variables involved with reproduction strategies and human psychology and behavior.

Dreams and Life History Theory
           The amount of sleep and dream states is robust, at around one-third of an individual's life span. This makes the inquiry into dream theory a worthwhile endeavor. Many different fields, including psychology and anthropology, have developed a myriad of theories addressing why and how humans dream. Theories in evolutionary psychology propose most of the brain's adaptive functions that would produce dreams were set during the Pleistocene. However, only hominins merge dreaming and behavior. Competing theories range from a day residue framework of Freudian wish dribble to a Jungian solution to issues of the unconscious, to a more mundane biological static, used as a receptacle for excess energy to not overload the higher functions of the brain. The biological static does serve an adaptive purpose but is limited to physiology and the preservation.

One distinction within dream theories is an underlying idea of a mutually exclusive difference between some biological function “adaptation” of dreams and the “invented” psycho-cultural function of dreams. The biological function refers to the adaptation or evolution of dreams. The invented is the psychological or cultural meaning assigned to dreams or the interpretation of the recalled dream. Ancestrally, the introspect required for dream analysis was not a “natural function.” However, since dreaming occurs in the imaginal realm, direct evidence of self-reflection might not be a conscious process. The interplay of conscious and unconscious thoughts is further complicated by the unconscious existence is controversial.

Activation-Synthesis (AT) theory. This theory states the function of dreaming is to aid in the physiological process of memory, in which images appearing in dreams are simply randomized day residues. These images function to aid in the biological process, but the brain’s production of images is not explained in the theory. The theory assumes the physiological process and psychological process are mutually exclusive and seems based on a Cartesian model of dualism. Since the psychological process is biological in nature and requires synaptic connections, this theory falls short of an explanation of why nature has selected for the existence of dreams.

Another evolutionary theory of dreams is the side effect theory (SET). The SET claims there is no evolutionary advantage to dreams themselves. Dreams are a side effect, a spandrel, for a process like memory, in the REM state. The organization of the dream, or as Revonsuo states the temporal narrative, within the context of SET theory is just a spillover of the organization from the waking state. This theory varies slightly from the AS theory in that the dreams and or images function to aid in specific processes, like memory. One argument against the adaptive theory of dreaming is, simply because a trait exhibits a particular form or in the case of dreams, organization, does not automatically indicate the trait has been selected for adaptation. This postulate would be applicable if remaining organized during the sleep state was more energetically conservative.

Evolution of the brain and temporal implications
According to Peter Hancock, the brain is composed of a multi-structured system that evolved over time. Dealing with environmental stimuli, the response to which can increase or decrease survival has changed over time as well. These changes are akin to a newer model laid on top of the older model or complexation of responses laid over ancestral behavior. Peter Hancock proposes three ways by which these complex processes aid in survival. It is through this model of the evolution of the brain that dreams are empirically adaptive. Hancock refers to dreaming as “unconscious prospective memory” There are three basic levels of this theoretical approach.

The first is the concept of self. The self reflects orientation providing temporal and spatial information. That is, being able to differentiate self from non-self. The second is self-persistence. That is, the ability to respond to stimuli from the environment within the constraint of time. The third is imperative responses. The "what ifs" to predict environmental events before they happen, to increase response and survival. The ability to what if a projection relies on memory as the main processing point. So much so, that one of the main functions of memory is to make predictions about the environment. The specific function of memory is to increase future prediction models.

Dreaming in the context of a multi-structured system happens in the top tier or the “what if” making. The dream simulates specific scenarios in which the “what ifs” are played out. This simulation involves the psychomotor system, as learning the behavioral response is embedded in the body as well as mind. Sleep paralysis keeps the somatic functioning inert. However, the dreamer is actively learning. When the “what if” threat happens in waking life, the theory proposes the person is prepared to respond but does not have to cognitively bring to consciousness the already played scenario, increasing reaction time increasing survival.

Threat Simulation Theory
The foremost theory in adaption school of thought is Revonsou’s Threat Simulation Theory (TST). One major reason is the theory combines the physiological mechanisms of dreaming with the dream imagery. Ancestrally, most of the environment was riddled with threats for nearly all human history, so the ability to phenomenological practice these skills would have provided an advantage to our ancestors. However, this would pose a slightly different model in modern world and the theory is heavily reliant on negative emotions that are a result of the threat in dream and waking response.

Antti Revonsuo defines dreams as “subjective experience during sleep, consisting of complex or organized images that show temporal progression”. Dreaming is not simply a byproduct of the REM stage of sleep, as dreaming can occur at any stage of sleep. Revonsuo highlights the differentiation of states of sleep. For example, REM versus the phenomenology of dreaming itself. Although it seems the neurological and mental process differentiate, he is simply suggesting these processes do not have to occur simultaneously to dream.

Revonsuo proposes the threat simulation theory (TST). The function of dreaming is to predict future threats via images, evaluate how to deal with the threats, create memories of the simulation, and be better prepared for threats in waking life. This theoretically would increase fitness by increasing survival when encountering predators/threats in the environment by being prepared to react to the threat. The ability to recall the reaction would not even be necessary, as the unconscious can apply the reaction from a dream during a waking threat. Thematically, the simulation would consistently revolve around frequent or actual threats within the environment.

Dreams operate at an implicit learning level. That is to say, an individual can learn and recall a simulated event of a threat without memory of doing so nor a conscious memory of the reaction simulation. There are several theories based on implicit learning and length of childhood in which no conscious level of thinking is required to learn.

The empirical evidence for the biological or evolutionary model of dreaming for TST comes from six main lines of evidence. These lines of evidence are imperative to explaining the theory, because historically the gathering of empirical or scientific-based evidence of dreams has been both difficult and a product of the "soft" sciences.

1.    Dreams are not randomized images but organized. This organization would not be a random offshoot of biology, as its complexity is similar to waking consciousness. Dreams can operate in entire narratives.

2.    Dreams work in conjunction with existing mental models in the brain. These schemas or mental models are the structural evidence for dreams as simulation. Running scenarios or situations is less costly in dreams than in waking life. These mental models are based on neurological structures or circuits.

3.    These models of the world are more commonly weighted in the negative emotions or as Revonuso states, threats. The dreams revolve directly around these threats incorporating elements and images directly from the environment.

4.    Almost working like a feedback loop, environmental threats that individuals are subjected to in life, change and alter the content of the dream threat, aligning in terms of themes and images.

5.    The psychomotor works the same in dreams as waking life. Due to sleep paralysis, the somatic activities are inert, but the brain incorporates and embeds the movements for future recall during a threatening event.

6.    The ancestral environment was so dangerous; evolution would have selected for a threat simulation process.

TST gained validity as an evolutionary theory of dreaming because not only was the biological process of dreaming, especially in REM stages of sleep, accounted for, but the actual dream content was equally important. Although the content was limited to threats from the environment, there was a level of importance of the imagery not seen in evolutionary theory. Even if the simulation portion of the theory was of higher value, the images were not simply an after effect of brain function but a part of the simulation or biological function of the dreams.

One presupposition this model relies on would be the function of dreaming has not evolved since it was set in the Pleistocene. During the Pleistocene, large predators were the main source of threat to survival. But if dreaming developed to predict and respond to environmental factors, as humans developed tools and were less and less subject to prey and more subject to a different type of threat, logically it seems dreams could change and adapt to predict new environmental problems. As culture expanded in complexity, it seems to follow so too did the complexity of dreams.

Childhood Trauma and Nightmares
If TST increases survival and fitness then, TST should reflect more negative emotions and more nightmares in individuals exposed to high levels of threat or environmental stress. One place the theory turns to is traumatized, here trauma is synonymous with environmental threats, children's dream content, where a high level of simulation activation would occur regularly due to the constant exposure to threats in comparison to children exposed to less threatening environments. The greater the exposure to threat, the more dream recall was present in traumatized children. The hypothesis for this heightened dream recall is; Trauma results in high stress, which increases the number of times a child wakes during the sleep stage of dreaming. Individuals have better recall with emotional valance. Or some combination of both.

           Waking trauma, in turn, affects the simulation, producing a higher number of nightmares or negative emotions. These both simulate portions of waking trauma and simulate dream emotions to then predict and deal with future trauma in the environment. This theory revolves not around unresolved psychological distress but to simulate situations to increase chances of survival in similar encounters thus increasing fitness. Arguably, the dream simulation could be operating within the parameters of both functions. Both simulating distressful environments for learning and resolving psychological distress to increase the waking mental load caused by these situations, especially in terms of the emotional valance, given emotions are adaptive. Although his study was not longitudinal, it provides information on when memories of dreaming begin, and that environmental input has a greater effect on children’s dreams. Insomuch that, children exposed to harsh environmental conditions, have more nightmares. Due to the short length of the study, there was no data on whether children who had frequent nightmares continued this pattern into adulthood or if they were able to adjust dream content to reflect the new environmental threats as adults.

Dreaming as an imaginal realm
Why would dreams be such effective simulations? According to numerous psychologists, memory is very complex and has several different components depending on the input and by what mechanism the brain receives information. Memory is fluid, a process in constant flux, unlike the lay idea of memory as a set series of images in time. In order for the threat simulation theory to operate, there would need to be a mechanism by which the information about the treat and the reaction to the threat are processed and stored by memory and a mechanism of information recall during an event.

Not all sensory input has an equally robust neural model by which the stimulus information is processed. Imaginal processing and vision here are differentiated but both important sensory inputs. While vision here refers to a conscious sensory input, the imaginal process happens at an unconscious level, with a different mechanism, and arguably a different memory or processing system. Since dreaming operates at the imaginal level much of the processing of emotions undertakes both the ability to represent and articulate concepts understated in the semantic realm.

During sleep, the function of “synaptic plasticity” is to aid in the process of memory. That is, the neural connections made during sleep are fluid but build upon the already processed information. Different states of consciousness (SOC) arise from the physical brain structure which operates like circuits. However, the process of how memory operates varies according to theorists. So, the application of these broad processes like “memory”, are whittled down to a certain simplicity based on the limited understanding of the brain.

Michele Stephen, along with quite a few other theorists, proposes there are two types of memory registers. The first is the one that processes verbal information called the semantic register. This register is accessible via the conscious mind. Imaginal thinking or imaginal dreaming is, as Stephen's argues, the main way in which emotions are processed. This would make looking at both waking emotions shaping schema and dream image emotions shaping schemas both relevant to the best fit alignment of schemas in the prediction of environmental threats and arguably psychological maladaptation.

Emotional Valance and the Predictive Coding Model
Charles Laughlin proposes a twofold definition of adaptation. One the one hand, there is the organism's adaptation to the immediate surrounding environmental factors and the other adaptation lies in the physical neural models of the brain, which are the actual neurons. During the waking hours, the environmental component of adaptation becomes the primary mode of response. The dream mode, engages the inner self and interaction between the inner self and the unconscious, creating and changing neural pathways during sleep. To then take Laughlin’s model of the adaptation of wake and dream mode and superimpose it on Thinking Through Other Minds model of cognition, there is an interesting parallel in that there is both a neurological aspect and a cultural environmental aspect of the functions of dreams.

Recent research combining Carl Jung's ideas of the self and archetypes with neuroscience has indicated perhaps life history theory of dreaming, for example Revonsuo’s proposal of the simulation theory, is not mutually exclusive from psychological dream theories. Jung's theory of archetypes is not ethereal but rather based on neuroscience. He proposes humans come with pre-programming. This is also a route by which dreams can serve to increase survival, but this does not have to happen on a conscious level.

           Predictive coding (PC) theorizes dreaming, specifically within the REM state, acts as a refiner tool that continuously builds and refines the working inner mental models or schemas. The PC model operates off the presupposition of the existence of a proto-consciousness. Protoconscious is akin to Jung’s archetypes (primordial consciousness) or a preexisting tiny inner virtual reality. This precedes “waking consciousness”. Sleep operates as an offline mechanism during which these models are updated or changed. This stage of sleep is imperative to environmental prediction and increasing survival by keeping models relevant to predicting environmental threats. Dreaming content, specifically during the REM stage of sleep, may serve to connect experience (memories) with "biological imperatives." This interaction runs the PC, ideally increasing fitness.

The study of emotions within the field of neuroscience has been largely overlooked, and even dismissed until fairly recently. Research on emotions through neurology and psychology proposes that there is an instinctual aspect of emotions which are not simply just responding to stimuli but there is a more complicated process happening. Operating off the presupposition that emotions are adaptive, Rosalind Cartwright explains how emotions of dreams assist the updating of schemas. One of the functionalities of emotional valance, specifically negative emotion is to catch the schema's attention. This negative emotion in waking life, specifically linked to some threat, would serve as a warning to heed to.

Sensory Input
According to J.A. Hobson, “it would appear that our nocturnal visions (which we call dreams) are evidence of an epigenetically grounded auto-activation system that is designed to simulate reality.”  Hobson and Friston’s 2018 article, REM sleep, along with dreaming contribute to waking consciousness. During rapid eye movement, in dreams, the brain is able to create a stimulus without any vision or external waking stimuli in REM allows for certain processes, that occur during dreaming, to preform activities that waking conscious is dependent on. The discovery of PGO, (Pontine-geniculate-occipital) waves in REM sleep then has implications for the predictive coding and free energy minimization. These waves are mostly of internal origin and in humans the other sensory systems beyond vision are affected. In REM sleep during dreams, the prediction should be that people are more startled by dreams than they are. The PGO waves in REM reduce this but there is still quite a bit of cognitive uncertainty. So in short why are humans less startled in dreams with the incongruity of being exposed to unpredictable stimuli than they predictably would be in waking life.

Free energy immunization and perception: Minimizing environmental surprise or prediction error. The schemas or mental models of the world are updated during sleep. This download attempts to better match the internal schemas with the waking world to minimize free energy, which translates as a reduction in the error when predicting the environment. The dance between perception and action is also known as recurrent hypothesis testing. In order for the prediction error to be minimized there is a huge repository in the virtual reality. For example, an image appearing in the dream and representing a corresponding image/idea in waking life can be a morphed version of the image. These polymorphic images from dreamscape are not met with resistance because there is no external sensory input to compare against memory of the image. In contrast to waking life, external sensory input needs to compare against these internal predictors. Sleep can optimize an earlier belief of waking life by processing or observing the sensory input data, updating or re-configuring schema models via Bayesian model. This is called “post hoc model selection” The internal model is a “bidirectional hierarchical cascade” Put simply, if the internal predictions do not match the external sensory data, there is an error which then is used to update your schema.

The Vigilant Hypothesis, according to Donald Symons states that the sensory processing system still continue to operate in order to hierarchically detect any environmental stimuli when sleeping and respond within a range of behaviors, but this vigilance is not equal to a waking state of awareness. Vision is the only sense that does not inform the dreamer of external stimuli according to the vigilant hypothesis. Another controversial aspect of dreams as adaptive simulations is the sensory state of sleep and whether or not it closely resembles a waking state of sensory simulations. The controversy has several contributing factors. For one, the study of dreams rely directly on subjective information, that is people are at a tertiary distance from the dream. Charles Laughlin states this subjectivity as, “the dream as dreamt, the dream as recalled, and the dream as told.” Another issue is that dreams themselves are often fleeting or distorted and makes the ability to compare waking sensory input difficult.

Although there is no consensus on the sleep sensory state, vision does appear to be one sense that is utilized similarly in both states, as dreams are mostly made of images these would be internally generated. There are still external sensory cues being input. For example, one visual cue operating while the eyes are closed during sleep is light entering. This could be an adaptation to stay connected to the immediate surrounding environment. People who are able to create images during waking state seem to be able to bring that into REM state and have better dream recall.

Although mental activity occurs thought the sleep cycles, the type of mental activity during the different parts of the cycle, does vary. For example, there is a differentiation types of images from dreams depending on the sleep cycle in REM stage as opposed to NREM. Overall, the mental activity of sleep is not as complexly processed because it would deter from potential threats from the environment during sleep because there would be a decrease in the ability to stay vigilant to waking sensory input cues. Symons theory overall problematizes the cost of image conjuring in dreams and proposes an investigation into the energetics of dreams.

Social Simulation Theory
Revonsuo along with a couple of other theorists broadened the application of his ideas to other simulations from the waking world besides potential threats. With this there was an acknowledgment of dreaming as a key alternate state of consciousness (ASC) In this framework, consciousness is taken seriously as an evolutionarily adaptive trait in its own right. This has been an important step to further acknowledge the existence of the unconscious because ASCs are key intentional ways to allow for communication of the unconscious and conscious mind, which naturally occurs in dreams.The theory is mainly based on the evolutionary premise that humans needed to be efficient at human interaction. One route of efficiency is the ability to identify the lack or presence of other people and to what extent they are familiar. However, this does not seem fundamentally different than the TST with other potentially threatening humans in general or potential intragroup conflict. The SST seems to fill in the gap for the non-negative content that occurs in dreams.

Life history theory supports the idea of the adaptive functions of sociality. For example, cooperative breeding or energy pooling. To benefit from a social form of cooperation, individuals develop and hone social skills. In order to socialize, certain psychological functions need to operate to have group and interpersonal relationships. The operation of sociality can be simulated in dreams. Similar to the TST theory, SST would be a simulation for future human to human interactions and implicit learning of social skills. To prove SST is adaptive, empirical evidence of the function of dreams must be derived. The two theoretical leanings for the SST theory are the "Inclusive Fitness and Kin Selection Theory and the reciprocal altruism theory." This idea of simulation seems heavily reliant on positive emotions which seems to be the opposite of the TST, which is heavily reliant on the negative emotions to predict future threats. This could indicate emotional valance may be an important factor for processing emotion and updating of refining schemas.

However, one potential problem is that SST appears to rely on the concept of the self as a cohesive whole, proposing dreams have a social element operating around a singular dream ego by simulating waking social interactions. Psychological theory would contend error in a non-multidimensional model of the self although, this multidimensional model is somewhat controversial it is worthy of further exploration within dream theory.

Episodic Foresight and Metacognitive Dreaming.
The theory of episodic foresight in an interesting area to apply active or lucid dreaming. Logically one could predict active dreaming, defined by intentionally manipulating the dreamscape, has existed since dreaming emerged. An alternative way to think about this possibility is that lucid dreaming, being aware one is dreaming, could have then given way to active dreaming. Pushing the idea forward by the application of the framework of life-history theory to the potential benefits of self-manipulation of schemas could open up theories about waking consciousness.

Recent research on adults with nightmares sheds light on dream function during extreme environmental stressors. Wojciech Owczarski conducted an analysis based on recounted dreams from survivors of the Auschwitz concentration camps to assess the function of traumatic dreams on survival. This study showed an increase in a therapeutic response of incorporating new sensory input to essentially update schemas in ways that produced healing.

This study is of particular interest because it addresses a lucid state of dreaming in several dream accounts. Firstly, the study addresses the variation in lucidity not only from dream to dream but within the same dream. These dreams are called "comeback dreams." Even without a complete state of lucidity, there still seems to be a metacognitive effect on the brain when dreaming. That is to say, the processing of trauma during dreams updates schemas in ways that adjust schemas from traumatic environments to non-traumatic environments. These dreams incorporate new schema information and at the same time, have a psychologically therapeutic effect. This study indicates a model of PC or schema updating, working in conjunction with beneficial psychological and cultural advantages, could have applicable clinical benefits.

Creative innovations to deal with environmental threats
The field of neuroaesthetics attempts to address creativity within the framework of neurology. With episodic foresight, the goal is to increase positive emotions via the imaginal route to increase future potential survival and delay reward. Active dreaming and creative problem solving could be a lucrative area for exploration for the potential application to clinical psychology.

Modern American psychology has moved away from psychoanalysis so much so, dream analysis is a vestigial practice. Combing life history theory by looking at the biological functioning of the dream as adaptive shows perhaps solving emotional problems has been one strategy to increase survival along with the more obvious virtual reality simulation. The concept of environmental threats could be extended to other areas, like trauma (both cultural and individual) or social issues. Along with dream analysis, active dreaming, like episodic foresight could be an effective avenue for dealing with psychological issues that have a direct effect on survival and reproductive strategies. It may function like a hyper schema refiner in which information from the conscious mind flows to and from the unconscious mind with ease.

Attempting to apply the TST to modern environmental threats could be insightful. Simulated encounters with predators in dreams would have been more or less quick and stored by the imaginal memory register, so the individual could unconsciously recall and act during a waking event. More complicated environmental risks may have been too complex to simulate in dreams initially. However, as culture changed over time and theoretically environmental risks and hazards changed as well, there is potential the simulation software evolved to handle more complex tasks and developed a more expansive breadth.

The fact that dreaming creates implicit learning, which never has to come directly into conscious thought, can be extended to other types of learned materials outside the realm of traditional environmental threats. If dreams are beneficial in solving environmental hazards, it seems counterproductive to halt the theory to a single basic biological function, as that would never be the case with the myriad of processes of waking consciousness. Dreams contain mashups of images that don't happen in waking life. These images, ideas, or feelings can be recombined in different ways. The whole dream dimension, rich in creativity and innovation, could arguably enhance survival and increase fitness via creative solutions to mismatched schemas.

Conclusion
Has dream simulation undergone further adaptations since it was set roughly in the Pleistocene? Through exploring these avenues one can postulate if theories of dreaming in the Life History context apply to modern dream theories. By erasing the division of the “natural” or adaptive theories of dreams and the “invented” psycho-cultural theories of dreams research can continue to make headway in psychology and evolutionary anthropology. Just as our ancestors were selected to have dream simulation, we can apply this model to modern sources of threats. Putting dream theory in the framework of evolution, adaptation, or life history theory has networked together different mental processes and neurological structures of the brain to give a more complete understanding of why humans experience dreams. The possibility of dreams operating at multiple levels on multiple structures simultaneously, just like the waking process, is not contingent around a single ultimate function but more likely, dreaming has several functions. With this hypothesis in mind, it would, therefore, make sense to further explore both intrinsic and extrinsic functions of dreams.