title: REM sleep and dreaming functions beyond reductionism.
abstract: Brain activation patterns and mental, electrophysiological, and neurobiological features of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep suggest more functions than only elaborative encoding. Hence, the periodic occurrence of REM sleep episodes and dreaming may be regarded as a recurrent adaptive interference, which incorporates recent memories into a broader vital context comprising emotions, basic needs and individual genetic traits.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neurobiology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, BG-1113 Sofia, Bulgaria. ru@bio.bas.bg roumen_kirov@yahoo.com http://www.bio.bas.bg/neurobiology/EN/index.htm.
authors.forename: Roumen
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kirov
mesh_terms: D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D004325:Dreams / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D061212:Memory, Episodic; D012895:Sleep, REM / Q000502:physiology*