This reminds me of Kurzweil's explanation of dreaming, as offered in "How to create a mind" book. He claims that during dreaming we experience random, uncoordinated activation of synaptic links and some small portion is recorded in memories. It is only when we recall our dreams that we infuse meaning into them, building a structured and sequential narrative around random stimulus so that our mind can make sense of these memories.
This is falsified by people who have had interactions with waking people while asleep, conducting conversations and interactions, even if nonsensical. So there is online processing during dreams, not just a "ghost" memory left behind afterwards.
