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NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH LABORATORY

WITS NeuRL

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BRAIN MATTERS SEMINARS

The past, present and future of

Neuroscience in southern Africa

University of Cape Town

Dr Mark Solms

SEMINAR

SUMMARY

Neural Mechanisms of Dreaming

Sahba Besharati

Introduction

Michael Pitman

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Introduction

The third seminar in the series was held on Friday 18th August 2017. The presenter, Professor Mark Solms, Director of Neuropsychology at the University of Cape Town, spoke on: ‘The neural mechanisms of dreaming’.

The discovery of the brain mechanisms of REM sleep in the 1960s and 70s suggested that dreaming is a meaningless physiological state. More recent findings suggest otherwise: dreams are generated by a network of forebrain structures responsible for specific memory and motivational functions. This lecture reconsidered the old Freudian theories in light of these new findings.