REM sleep is a state of desynchronized electrophysiological activity of the brain. It is usually accompanied by mental activity characterized by a succession of complex visual experiences commonly referred to as dreaming. Although REM sleep and dreaming are not implicitly conjoined, when they co-occur, they have a very distinct phenomenology, as, typically, the dream plot is bizarre and incohesive which is mirrored in heightened brain activation coupled with strongly attenuated coherence levels. At the same time, owing to increased limbic system activity, REM sleep dreams are highly emotional. Moreover, concrete emotions are often unrelated to dream events. Nevertheless, REM sleep dreams are often subjectively perceived as story-like and autobiographically meaningful. Indeed, elements of salient life events, attachment figures, and personally relevant emotions, especially trauma, seem to have a higher probability of re-appearing in dreams, albeit the dream plot itself remains highly distorted. This has prompted several theories on the interpretability of dreams, some authors leaning towards dreams reflecting waking mentation, others suggesting complete dissociation between waking and dreaming, both sides not fully accounting for empirical findings. In this review, we provide an overview of recent findings on the factors mediating REM sleep neurophysiology and dream content. As a first step towards integration of conflicting research results, we introduce a testable model (Trace-Spur-model) based on Hebbian theory of neural networks, proposing that dream bizarreness is a function of state-related modulations in synaptic strength allowing for hyper-associative mental activity, possibly enabling either a restructuring and integrative consolidation or extinction of learning experiences acquired in waking. In this model, dreams are viewed as phenomenological expressions of this neurophysiologic activity where dream recall allows a fragmentary witnessing of such processes, similar to peeking into an enduring and complex networking system. However, the content of the recollected dream is probably strongly deterred by autobiographical memory bias, favoring those images we can form some sort of association with.

中文翻译：

---

在REM睡眠中做梦：自传意义还是基于Hebbian的记忆整合过程的简单反映？

REM睡眠是大脑电生理活动失调的状态。它通常伴随着以一系列复杂的视觉体验为特征的精神活动，通常被称为做梦。尽管REM睡眠和梦并不是隐含在一起的，但是当它们同时出现时，它们具有非常独特的现象学，因为梦的情节通常是离奇的，缺乏凝聚力的，反映出大脑活动的增强以及相干能力的强烈减弱。同时，由于边缘系统活动的增加，REM的睡眠梦很激动。而且，具体的情感往往与梦境无关。然而，REM睡眠梦通常被主观地认为是故事般的，并且具有自传意义。确实，重要的生活事件，依恋数字，并且与个人相关的情绪，尤其是创伤，似乎更有可能再次出现在梦中，尽管梦境本身仍然高度扭曲。这催生了关于梦的可解释性的几种理论，一些作者倾向于梦境，反映了梦境，而另一些则认为梦境和梦境之间是完全分离的，而双方都没有完全解释经验发现。在这篇综述中，我们概述了介导REM睡眠神经生理学和梦境的因素的最新发现。作为整合有争议的研究结果的第一步，我们引入了基于Hebbian神经网络理论的可测模型（Trace-Spur模型），提出梦的奇异性是与状态相关的突触强度调节的函数，从而允许超联想的心理活动，可能使人们能够进行结构调整和整合，或醒来时所获得的学习经验消失。在此模型中，梦被视为这种神经生理活动的现象表达，梦的回忆可以零碎地见证这样的过程，类似于窥探一个持久而复杂的网络系统。但是，回忆梦的内容可能受到自传性记忆偏见的强烈阻碍，偏爱那些我们可以形成某种关联的图像。梦被视为这种神经生理活动的现象表达，梦的回忆可以零碎地见证这样的过程，类似于窥探一个持久而复杂的网络系统。但是，回忆梦的内容可能受到自传性记忆偏见的强烈阻碍，偏爱那些我们可以形成某种关联的图像。梦被视为这种神经生理活动的现象表达，梦的回忆可以零碎地见证这种过程，类似于窥探一个持久而复杂的网络系统。但是，回忆梦的内容可能受到自传性记忆偏见的强烈阻碍，偏爱那些我们可以形成某种关联的图像。