Can a microdynamic approach to sleep-onset imagery solve the overabundance problem of dreaming? Commentary on Tore Nielsen's "Microdream neurophenomenology".

A commentary on Nielsen's proposal that microdreams—experiences during the earliest stages of sleep onset—can reveal how dream imagery forms. The author examines microdreams through simulation views, which define dreaming as an immersive virtual-world experience centered on a virtual self, and evaluates expanding the oneiragogic spectrum to include kinesis. The conclusion is that although some microdreams may not qualify as minimal dreams, studying them can address key questions in dream research and may offer a distinct route to full dreaming.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Nielsen proposes that a microdynamic approach to experiences occurring in the earliest stages of sleep onset, which he calls microdreams, can shed light on the process of dream imagery formation. I discuss microdreams in the context of simulation views, in which dreaming is defined as the immersive experience of a virtual world centered on a virtual self. I also evaluate his proposal to expand the dimensions included in the oneiragogic spectrum by kinesis. I conclude that while a subset of microdreams might not fulfill the conditions to count as even minimal dreams, their investigation can nonetheless help address key questions in dream research and may even constitute a distinctive pathway to the generation of full-fledged dreaming.