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  1. The reinterpretation of dreams: An evolutionary hypothesis of the function of dreaming.Antti Revonsuo - 2000 - Behavioral and Brain Sciences 23 (6):877-901.
    Several theories claim that dreaming is a random by-product of REM sleep physiology and that it does not serve any natural function. Phenomenal dream content, however, is not as disorganized as such views imply. The form and content of dreams is not random but organized and selective: during dreaming, the brain constructs a complex model of the world in which certain types of elements, when compared to waking life, are underrepresented whereas others are over represented. Furthermore, dream content is consistently (...)
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  • Dreaming and consciousness: Testing the threat simulation theory of the function of dreaming.Antti Revonsuo & Katja Valli - 2000 - PSYCHE: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Research On Consciousness 6.
    We tested the new threat simulation theory of the biological function of dreaming by analysing 592 dreams from 52 subjects with a rating scale developed for quantifying threatening events in dreams. The main predictions were that dreams contain more frequent and more severe threats than waking life does; that dream threats are realistic; and that they primarily threaten the Dream Self who tends to behave in a relevant defensive manner in response to them. These predictions were confirmed and the theory (...)
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  • Evolutionary function of dreams: A test of the threat simulation theory in recurrent dreams.Antonio Zadra, Sophie Desjardins & Éric Marcotte - 2006 - Consciousness and Cognition 15 (2):450-463.
    Revonsuo proposed an intriguing and detailed evolutionary theory of dreams which stipulates that the biological function of dreaming is to simulate threatening events and to rehearse threat avoidance behaviors. The goal of the present study was to test this theory using a sample of 212 recurrent dreams that was scored using a slightly expanded version of the DreamThreat rating scale. Six of the eight hypotheses tested were supported. Among the positive findings, 66% of the recurrent dream reports contained one or (...)
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  • Did ancestral humans dream for their lives?Antti Revonsuo - 2000 - Behavioral and Brain Sciences 23 (6):1063-1082.
    The most challenging objections to the Threat Simulation Theory (TST) of the function of dreaming include such issues as whether the competing Random Activation Theory can explain dreaming, whether TST can accommodate the apparently dysfunctional nature of post-traumatic nightmares, whether dreams are too bizarre and disorganized to constitute proper simulations, and whether dream recall is too biased to reveal the true nature of dreams. I show how these and many other objections can be accommodated by TST, and how several lines (...)
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  • The threat simulation theory of the evolutionary function of dreaming: Evidence from dreams of traumatized children.Katja Valli, Antti Revonsuo, Outi Pälkäs, Kamaran Hassan Ismail, Karzan Jalal Ali & Raija-Leena Punamäki - 2005 - Consciousness and Cognition 14 (1):188-218.
    The threat simulation theory of dreaming states that dream consciousness is essentially an ancient biological defence mechanism, evolutionarily selected for its capacity to repeatedly simulate threatening events. Threat simulation during dreaming rehearses the cognitive mechanisms required for efficient threat perception and threat avoidance, leading to increased probability of reproductive success during human evolution. One hypothesis drawn from TST is that real threatening events encountered by the individual during wakefulness should lead to an increased activation of the system, a threat simulation (...)
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