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At one time I was quite interested in the evolution of humans and the only part that really sets us apart is brain development.
A couple of contemporaries whom I greatly admire were Carl Sagan and Isaac Asimov.
I read a couple of books by Sagan that were quite good:
The Dragons of Eden and
Broca's Brain. They're both easy to read and written in laymans terms.
From these and some other books on human behavior, I developed a crackpot theory of my own concerning dreams.
All mammal brains theoretically developed from earlier forms of life and we basically develop through stages of this evolution as we develop from conception and childhood. The very base part of our brain, the brain stem, is pretty similar to total brainpower of fish and lower reptiles. On top of this, mammals have a highly developed limbic region that seems to account for our care of our young (mammal/mammaries) and empathy for others. In addition, we have large cerebral cortex logic sections divided into left and right growth. These brain parts are even supposedly somewhat separable during autopsy or student dissection. The difference between early life forms and later development is visually apparent in the lab.
All of these brain parts have distinct tasks and yet can operate in unison.
From this, it follows that, while areas of the cortex may require rest or shutdown, the more primitive lizard/fish portion never really sleeps. I observe it is true that these lower forms of animal life seem to doze, but not sleep, which could be detrimental to their survival. They are likely to have constant flickering eye movement in all but the least states of alertness. Cold blooded creatures may even have a problem moving if their body has cooled to an unfriendly cool environment. Difficulty moving would be their worst nightmare. But their eyes would freely move.
So I propose that all REM dreams are made of active primitive brain processes that leak into our dozing cortex, including immobility terrors. Maybe we need more blankets or the other half has stolen them. Can't get cold ...can't get cold...
That is my own crackpot theory anyway.
Wes
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