Robert McCarley
Robert McCarley was a psychiatrist and sleep researcher, co-author with J. Allan Hobson of the 1977 paper setting out the activation-synthesis hypothesis.
Who they are
The work of Robert McCarley reaches this site through the paper listed below. On this site the name is tied to Activation-Synthesis Hypothesis.
Key papers
Hobson, J. A., & McCarley, R. W. (1977). The brain as a dream state generator: An activation-synthesis hypothesis of the dream process. American Journal of Psychiatry, 134(12), 1335-1348. What it reports: Proposes that dreaming is set off by brainstem mechanisms that periodically activate the forebrain, which synthesises the activated information by comparing it with stored memory.
Key ideas
Activation-Synthesis Hypothesis: Hobson and McCarley's 1977 proposal that brainstem activity activates the forebrain, which synthesises it with stored memory into a dream.
Sources
- Hobson, J. A., & McCarley, R. W. (1977). The brain as a dream state generator: An activation-synthesis hypothesis of the dream process. American Journal of Psychiatry, 134(12), 1335-1348.