I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.... Psalm 139:14
DREAMS - A Finely Structured System
"You dream for two hours every night, but for something so common, it’s a remarkably enigmatic process.
Dreams tap memories stored in connections between brain cells, which the
hippocampus tracks as they form. At night it directs neurons to replay
recollections, facilitating long-term storage. That could be why reality
seeps into our visions—but not why they tend to warp reality.
B.
Our most vivid imaginings occur during the REM phase of sleep. Activity
increases in brain regions that control movement and process optical
inputs, like the visual and motor cortices, which likely create what we
“see” and “do” in slumber.
C.
The almond-shaped amygdala helps generate feelings like fear, anger, and
anxiety. It and other emotional domains are more rowdy during REM
sleep, which could explain why strong reactions happen frequently when
we doze. We may rely on this process to dull the sting of difficult
memories.
D.
Despite their disjointed nature, dreams still contain semirational
thoughts, likely thanks to areas supporting conscious cognition. The
anterior, or front, portion of the cingulate, a semicircle in the
brain’s center, influences motivation and decision-making—and can switch
on while we’re snoozing.
E.
During REM, neuroscientists see suppression of the dorsolateral
prefrontal cortex, which is critical for executive functions like
directing attention, solving problems, and reasoning. This might help
explain why we rarely realize we’re asleep, despite some outlandish
scenarios." PocketWorthy
Q: Do you really think this Finely Tuned system---which includes switches---evolved randomly by time + chance over eons slowly with a little bit of hocus pocus of natural selection mixed in?
