[Model for the recall of dreams upon waking, proposed to account for impairment of memory of dreams].

A two-stage model is presented to account for the difficulties found in sleep learning and dream recall. The model assumes that information processing in a short-term memory store facilitates subsequent retrieval from long-term storage and that such processing is impaired during sleep. As a result, it is suggested that information confronting the sleeping person very likely can only be retrieved if an awakening occurs during the life of the short-term memory trace. However, it is proposed that material occurring during or shortly after awakening, competes with information occurring during sleep for space in the limited capacity processing system, with the most important being favored for processing. Interference and repression are included as additional factors affecting retrieval from longterm storage.