Anticipation as Exercising (Language) Motor Programs During Dreams. A Neuropsychoanalytical Hypothesis

International audienceA neuropsychoanalytically framed hypothesis considering dreams as the ‘motor exercising’ of humans most typical behavior, namely language, is presented. In psychoanalysis dream bizarreness is often resolved by reading the dream content textually. It is defended that this literal interpretation comes down to analyzing language on its articulatory or phonemic structure. While in awake language, lexical (or ego) control is exercised in such a way that scansion of the phoneme structure is operated meaningfully in line with the context, this control is thought not to operate in dreams where it is the motor part (i.e. the articulation) which is thought to be important. The uncontrolled running of these articulatory programs could then result in phonemic ambiguities, thereby accounting for the bizarre elements of the dream