'The Young and the Restless' Alum Brenda Dickson Arrested for Battery

"The Young and the Restless" alum Brenda Dickson had some major drama in real life recently ... because she got tossed in the clink for battery ... TMZ has learned.

Brenda -- who played Jill Foster Abbott on the famous soap opera -- was arrested and booked on July 9 for misdemeanor battery on a person, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office. She was released that same day on her own recognizance.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... LAPD officers were called to a location in Hollywood on the night of July 8 for a battery investigation.

Our sources say cops were told Brenda allegedly assaulted someone ... and, as a result, she was arrested. 

It's unclear who the alleged victim was, what their relationship was to Brenda or what precipitated the alleged battery.

Brenda appeared on 'Young and the Restless' from 1973 to 1980 and from 1983 to 1987 ... and she also had cameos in "Men at Law," "The FBI," "Love, American Style," "Here We Go Again," and "Falcon Crest."