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Physiological studies on REM sleep initially challenged the model described by Freud in Die Traumdeutung, specifically the fundamental link between dreams and motivational drives and the function of dreams as guardians of sleep. The author argues against these conclusions, which are based on the assumption that dreaming is generated by the primitive brainstem structures that regulate REM sleep. From his research on patients who have suffered brain injuries, the author demonstrates that the cerebral regions that trigger dreams are relatively independent from these brainstem nuclei and that they are located in the forebrain, especially in areas devoted to motivations and perceptual imagery. The classic Freudian model seems not only compatible with the most recent neurophysiological data but is in fact confirmed by these data.