# Are dreams pre-scripted or does the brain make them up as they go along? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 1, 2015, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dreams-pre-scripted-or-does-the-brain-make-them-up-as-they-go-along/718957 "2015-05-01T02:53:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cardboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Cardboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardboard)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dreams-pre-scripted-or-does-the-brain-make-them-up-as-they-go-along/718957/1 "2015-05-01T02:53:57Z")
I just had a dream that was way to good to have been made up as it went along. If it was a movie in real life, I would have watched. So does the brain ‘pre-script’ dreams and them play them out, or are they made up entirely on the fly, with the brain not knowing what will happen next until what has already happened has happened? ---
**Author:** ![mrldii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@mrldii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrldii)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dreams-pre-scripted-or-does-the-brain-make-them-up-as-they-go-along/718957/2 "2015-05-01T02:58:09Z")
I truly believe dreams are simply us watching our brains ‘file away’ the events of the day; where our brains try to take new events and connect them with past events in some sort of sensible system for later recall. So, no…not “made up, on the fly” nor “pre-scripted”…just trying to make sense of it all, for future/useful reference. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dreams-pre-scripted-or-does-the-brain-make-them-up-as-they-go-along/718957/3 "2015-05-01T03:04:27Z")
I don’t think dreams mean anything at all. The brain isn’t doing any special filing away; it’s just randomly drifting through thoughts. Sure, some might be based on the events of the previous day, but as anyone who has dreamed (all of us) can tell you, dreams can just go in wild and whacky directions for no apparent reason. Watch a dog dreaming sometime. I don’t believe he’s filing away pertinent memories for future reference. PS: I LOVE watching dogs dream and twitch and growl. It makes me very happy. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dreams-pre-scripted-or-does-the-brain-make-them-up-as-they-go-along/718957/4 "2015-05-01T03:21:21Z")
If you want to get into thought v dream, look into “Lucid Dreaming”. I ran into this before learning that it existed \* - kinda semi-conscious stage management of dreams - - I also ran into sleep paralysis before learning it was a thing. I live alone. Luckily I just decided to see if I could go back to sleep. Cats will also “run” in their sleep, twitch whiskers, kinda growl. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dreams-pre-scripted-or-does-the-brain-make-them-up-as-they-go-along/718957/5 "2015-05-01T16:23:07Z")
Did you really have a dream that was “too good to be made up”, or did you dream that your dream was too good to be made up? ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dreams-pre-scripted-or-does-the-brain-make-them-up-as-they-go-along/718957/6 "2015-05-01T17:23:59Z")
Did you write down your dream in detail? Here’s a very common experience for me: I wake up and think “That dream was awesome! I want to write it into a short story.” So I start scribbling down everything I remember of this dream. Most of the time I can’t even finish my scribbling because I realize it made no freaking sense whatsoever. Yeah, it was cool at the time, and it made sense at the time, but that’s only because my sleeping brain didn’t expect anything like cause and effect or logic to come into play. As soon as my waking brain tried to write it down in a coherent narrative, it became obvious that there no coherent and no narrative. (Which means I should sell the script to Michael Bay, right?) Anyway, there can be some conscious control over dreams. As a child, I learned that I could consciously say “This dream is a nightmare. I’m going to wake up now.” Sometimes I’ll wake up in the middle of a dream I like and consciously choose to resume it when I go back sleep. I’ve never tried true lucid dreaming, but that takes it a step further. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dreams-pre-scripted-or-does-the-brain-make-them-up-as-they-go-along/718957/7 "2015-05-01T17:34:55Z")
If there are noises around me while dreaming, my brain will often incorporate them into the dreamscape. So no, I don’t think there is any scripted pre-planning going on. ---
**Author:** ![Cardboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Cardboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardboard)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dreams-pre-scripted-or-does-the-brain-make-them-up-as-they-go-along/718957/8 "2015-05-01T18:06:34Z")
My dream was the greatest. My mom was in it and she tried cleaning up cat vomit with a chainsaw, among other exciting things. If it was a movie, it would fit in the thriller/suspense genre. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dreams-pre-scripted-or-does-the-brain-make-them-up-as-they-go-along/718957/9 "2015-05-01T20:03:34Z")
Hard to test scientifically, but my vote is ‘made up as you go along.’ One theory about the visual part of a dream is that your brain is trying to make sense out of basically no visual data. Your eyes send little noise-level stimuli to your visual cortex, which starts paying attention to smaller and smaller pieces of (because you’re asleep, with your eyes closed) mostly random input. Eventually, your visual cortex asks itself, based on those tiny bits, “is that a \_\_\_\_\_?” and sometimes decides it is, so puts an image of a \_\_\_\_\_\_ in your Cartesian theater. The things you’ve been seeing lately, or have been uppermost in your mind lately, are going to be more common in the checklist of things your brain thinks it might be seeing. It’s easy to imagine a similar piece for the auditory piece, although your ears are sometimes getting actual input. But I think most of us have experienced a ‘hey - that actual sound was in my dream’ moment when we woke up with a continuous sound going on. That experience, incidentally, is a pretty solid mark against ‘pre-scripted.’ I don’t think any scientist thinks dreams are pre-scripted. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dreams-pre-scripted-or-does-the-brain-make-them-up-as-they-go-along/718957/10 "2015-05-02T01:10:12Z")
Many times, I’ve had dreams when the radio was playing and the dreams would incorporate any radio chatter into them. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dreams-pre-scripted-or-does-the-brain-make-them-up-as-they-go-along/718957/11 "2015-05-02T02:14:22Z")
I’ve heard the idea that dreams are actually just random thoughts and images that pop up in your brain. But a portion of your mind then makes up a narrative that connects them. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dreams-pre-scripted-or-does-the-brain-make-them-up-as-they-go-along/718957/12 "2015-05-02T04:34:45Z")
What gets me is every now and then my dreams will return to a certain location. Like maybe a store or a job or some other place which when I’m awake I have no memory of ever being there yet in my dreams it seems I’ve been there alot. Its sort of like opening a book you’ve put down and continue reading, taking up right where you left off. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dreams-pre-scripted-or-does-the-brain-make-them-up-as-they-go-along/718957/13 "2015-05-02T04:59:29Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’ve heard the idea that dreams are actually just random thoughts and images that pop up in your brain. But a portion of your mind then makes up a narrative that connects them. Something I’ve noticed for years: when I’m very freshly awakened, my eyes will take what I see – my bedroom bookcases, closet door, objets d’art – and make them look like something. A pile of books will, for a second, look like the Parthenon; a shirt over a chair will look like a tiger; a little patch of moonlight on the wall will look like a turtle. This effect is strongest when I’m just coming awake. I think the part of the brain that makes up narratives is still functioning very actively at that point. With the coming of full awareness, this effect wanes. So…from that much experience…I agree with your explanation. (And…I’ve had a few dreams that were good enough to be made into stories!) ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dreams-pre-scripted-or-does-the-brain-make-them-up-as-they-go-along/718957/14 "2015-05-02T05:49:20Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Did you really have a dream that was “too good to be made up”, or did you dream that your dream was too good to be made up? Yeah, this. I woke up mid-dream once, right after I had said some AMAZING retorts to some jerk. They were incredibly witty with just the right amount of scathing snark. I actually had a pen and notebook on my nightstand, so I scribbled them down before falling back asleep – I wouldn’t lose those snippets of brilliance! When I woke up in the morning, I eagerly read that page. Aside from a LOT of it being nearly illegible (it _was_ written in the dark) … Oh.My.God. They were the DUMBEST crap you could ever think of. George Costanza’s, “the jerk store called and they’re running out of you!” was Oscar Wilde-level greatness compared to the dream vomit I recorded. That was a bummer, lemme tell ya. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dreams-pre-scripted-or-does-the-brain-make-them-up-as-they-go-along/718957/15 "2015-05-02T08:09:16Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > If there are noises around me while dreaming, my brain will often incorporate them into the dreamscape. So no, I don’t think there is any scripted pre-planning going on. Me too - often, the join is strikingly seamless. I guess when the brain isnt doing much else, it can weave external stimuli into the dream quite effectively. ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dreams-pre-scripted-or-does-the-brain-make-them-up-as-they-go-along/718957/16 "2015-05-02T09:15:53Z")
I read earlier today that the brain releases a hormone which send your sleeping self on an acid trip, the dreams you have are straight after visiting your imaginary dealer. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dreams-pre-scripted-or-does-the-brain-make-them-up-as-they-go-along/718957/17 "2015-05-02T18:47:12Z")
> [@mrldii](#): > > I truly believe dreams are simply us watching our brains ‘file away’ the events of the day; where our brains try to take new events and connect them with past events in some sort of sensible system for later recall. > > So, no…not “made up, on the fly” nor “pre-scripted”…just trying to make sense of it all, for future/useful reference. Oh, great. So if I want that long-sought after three-way with Sandra Bullock and Ashley Judd, I’m going to have to figure out a way to actually _have_ a three-way with Sandra Bullock and Ashley Judd? ---
**Author:** ![PlaceboTarget](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/placebotarget/32/1073_2.png) [@PlaceboTarget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlaceboTarget)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dreams-pre-scripted-or-does-the-brain-make-them-up-as-they-go-along/718957/18 "2015-05-02T20:36:06Z")
> [@Cardboard](#): > > So does the brain ‘pre-script’ dreams and them play them out, or are they made up entirely on the fly, with the brain not knowing what will happen next until what has already happened has happened? There’s no script in my opinion. > [@Urbanredneck](#): > > What gets me is every now and then my dreams will return to a certain location. Like maybe a store or a job or some other place which when I’m awake I have no memory of ever being there yet in my dreams it seems I’ve been there alot. > > Its sort of like opening a book you’ve put down and continue reading, taking up right where you left off. I don’t think it is like re-opening a book either, at least in my case. There are recurring dreams, or recurring themes, or recurring motifs, or even recurring props. Depending on their personal biochemical makeup and their own experiences, people go through a unique range of oneiric experiences. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dreams-pre-scripted-or-does-the-brain-make-them-up-as-they-go-along/718957/19 "2015-05-02T21:22:41Z")
> [@mrldii](#): > > I truly believe dreams are simply us watching our brains ‘file away’ the events of the day; where our brains try to take new events and connect them with past events in some sort of sensible system for later recall. > > So, no…not “made up, on the fly” nor “pre-scripted”…just trying to make sense of it all, for future/useful reference. I can assure you that I have NEVER fought a lion with a three-legged footstool while I was awake. Nor have I proposed to a girl after having known her for less than one hour. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dreams-pre-scripted-or-does-the-brain-make-them-up-as-they-go-along/718957/20 "2015-05-02T22:20:18Z")
Sometimes I have dreams where the soundtrack doesn’t match the video. I hear dialog for scene that is completely different from my visual perception. That’s pretty fucked up to be pre-scripted. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dreams-pre-scripted-or-does-the-brain-make-them-up-as-they-go-along/718957.md?page=2)