Dream Science

Dreaming is the cognitive state uniquely experienced by humans and integral to our creativity, the survival characteristic that allows for the rapid change and innovation that defines our species and provides the basis for our art, philosophy, science, and humanity. Yet there is little empiric or scientific evidence supporting the generally accepted dream-based theories of neuroconsciousness. Dream Science examines the cognitive science of dreaming and offers an evidence-based view of the phenomenon.

Today, such evidence-based breakthroughs in the field of dream science are altering our understanding of consciousness. Different forms of dreaming consciousness occur throughout sleep, and dreamlike states extend into wake. Each dream state is developed on a framework of memories, emotions, representational images, and electrophysiology, amenable to studies utilizing emerging and evolving technology. Dream Science discusses basic insights into the scientific study of dreaming, including the limits to traditional Freudian-based dream theory and the more modern evidence-based science. It also includes coverage of the processes of memory and parasomnias, the sleep-disturbance diagnoses related to dreaming. This comprehensive book is a scientific exploration of the mind-brain interface and a look into the future of dream science.

• Provides a more evidence-based approach than any other work on the market
• Single source of integrated information on all aspects of dream science makes this a critical time-saving reference for researchers and clinicians
• Authored by one of the leaders in the field of dream research
  

Advanced students and researchers involved in the study of cognitive science, sleep, and dreaming

Dedication

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Preface: The REMS Equals Dreaming Debacle

Abstract

Urban Myths

Spontaneous Electrical Activity

Clear and Irrefutable Evidence

Neuroconsciousness

The Special Relationship

Melancholic Simpletons

A Slice of the Brain

An All-Time Low

Almost Unstudied

Paradigm Shift

Notes

Chapter 1. Archaeology, Anthropology, and Dreaming

Moving Images - Cave Art

Mimeographs on Fresh Clay

Night Terrors

The Mechanical “Creativeness” of a Lightning Storm

Illumination

Non-Dreaming Neanderthals

The Shadow Play of Consciousness

Notes

Chapter 2. Shamans, Dreams, and Religion

Very Disturbing Dreams

Dreams as Divine Epiphany

The Purkinje Tree: Shamanism and Trance States

Dirty Needles and Dream Ecstasy

Notes

Chapter 3. Dream Philosophy

Unconcealing Dreams

The Dream as a Window into Body and Mind

Memory, Dreaming, and Frontal Lobotomies

The Same Memory Systems are Used in Dreaming and Waking

Descartes’ Many Errors?

Notes

Chapter 4. Studying Dreaming and Consciousness

Beyond the Chinese Room

Pathophysiology

Neurochemical Frog Prophecies and the Control of Rapid Eye Movement Sleep

The Electrophysiology of a Storm-Wracked Ocean

Approaching Dream Toads

Notes

Chapter 5. The Forms of Waking Consciousness

Attention-Focused Waking

Default Non-Attentive Waking

The Rhythms of Creativity

The Cognitive Curiosity of Hypnosis

Meditative States

The Altered State of Drowsy Waking

Forming Waking Consciousness

Notes

Chapter 6. The Conscious Forms of Sleep

Controlling Dreaming: Lucidity and Sleep Meditation

Sleep-Onset Dreams and Hallucinations

The “Special” Relationship of Rapid Eye Movement Sleep with Dreaming

Anxiety (Stage 2) Dreaming

The Dreams of Dreamless Sleep

Notes

Chapter 7. The Nightmare: Integrating Emotions into Consciousness

Fear and Emotional Competence

Imagining Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Creative Nightmares: Honor, Power, and the Love of Women

The Creative Nightmare Project

Emotional Consciousness

Notes

Chapter 8. Organizing Consciousness into Stories

Signs and Absolute Symbols

Signing “Dream”

Dream Language

Soap Operas and Other Parables

Pretty Horses and the Structure of Story

Dreaming and Three-Act Stories

Dreaming as a Structuring Principle for Life

Notes

Chapter 9. Visual Dream Consciousness

Archetypical Visual Processing

Fooling and Binding Visual Systems

The Sprocket in the Projector

The Visual Dream Stage

Notes

Chapter 10. Creating Artificial Dreams

Film-Making: The Mental Apparatus

Artificial Consciousness

The Interface that Abrogates Consciousness

Dreamtime Elmo

Notes

Chapter 11. Crossing the Line: Dreaming and Ecstasy

The Standard Approach to the Illogic of Dream Science

Dream Illogic in Religion and Philosophy

Crossing the Line

The Ecstasy of Cave Painters

Dream Science

Notes

Index