ABSTRACT
As knowledge of the cognitive functional specialization of the right cerebral hemisphere has increased, several authors (e.g., Ornstein, 1972; Jouvet, 1973; Galin, 1974; Broughton, 1975; Bakan, 1975; Cartwright, 1977; Cohen, 1979) have advanced the speculative hypothesis, which considers dreaming a function of the right hemisphere (RH). This hypothesis relies mainly on the recognition of some correspondences between dreaming and the cognitive “style” of the RH (prevalence of imagery, alogicity, etc.) and assumed the existence of some shift in hemispheric asymmetry during sleep with greater relative activation of the RH in REM sleep, that is, the state in which dreaming is pre-eminent.
