The Limits of Dream
A Scientific Exploration of the Mind / Brain Interface
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The Limits of Dream focuses on what we currently know of the human central nervous system (CNS), examining the basic sciences of neurochemisty, neuroanatomy, and CNS electrophysiology as these sciences apply to dream, then reaching beyond basic science to examine the cognitive science of dreaming including the processes of memory, the perceptual interface, and visual imagery. Building on what is known of intrapersonal CNS processing, the book steps outside the physical body to explore artificially created dreams and their use in filmmaking, art and story, as well as the role of dreaming in creative process and creative “madness.” The limits of our scientific knowledge of dream frame this window that can be used to explore the border between body and mind. What is known scientifically of the cognitive process of dreaming will lead the neuroscientist, the student of cognitive science, and the general reader down different paths than expected into an exploration of the fuzzy and complex horizon between mind and brain.
Key Features
- The clearest presentation of research and philosophy currently available relating to the mind/brain interface
- Discusses the cognitive processes of dreaming utilized in film and artificial intelligence
- Describes the functioning of dream in the creative process
Readership
* Cognitive neuroscientists, particularly those interested in sleep and dream, memory and creativity.
* Philosophers and students of philosophy interested in assessing new developments in philosophy of mind.
* Psychologists, psychiatrists, and physicians interested in brain function.
* Computer scientists focused on the development of neural networks and other aspects of brain/mind interface.
* Psychoanalysts and individuals with an interest in the development and application of psychoanalytic perspectives.
* Philosophers and students of philosophy interested in assessing new developments in philosophy of mind.
* Psychologists, psychiatrists, and physicians interested in brain function.
* Computer scientists focused on the development of neural networks and other aspects of brain/mind interface.
* Psychoanalysts and individuals with an interest in the development and application of psychoanalytic perspectives.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Preface
Chapter 1 Introduction
Body/Mind
Dreams as Windows
But, Is REM Sleep Dreaming?
The Event Horizon
The Limits of Dream
Section 1 Definitions and the Search for Truth
Chapter 2 Mind/Plato’s Cave
Descartes
Limits of the Cartesian Perspective
What is Mind?
Definitions
Psychoanalytic Approaches
Alternative Perspectives
Chapter 3 A Dream can be Gazpacho
Definitions
Section 2 The Biological Substrate of Dream
Chapter 4 The Neuroanatomy of Dreaming
The Neuroanatomy of REMS
The Neuropathology of Dreaming
The Neuroanatomy of Dreaming
Chapter 5 The Neurochemistry of Dreaming
REMS Neurochemistry
Medications Affecting Sleep
Medications Affecting Dreaming
Primary Neurotransmitters Affecting Sleep and Dreaming
Acetylcholine
Norepinephrine
Serotonin
Dopamine
GABA
Neurotransmitter Modulating Systems
Dreaming and Nightmares: Neurotransmitter Systems
Agents Affecting Conscious Interaction with the Environment Anesthetics
Agents Affecting Host Defense
The Neurochemistry of Dreams and Nightmares
Chapter 6 The Electrophysiology of Dreaming
The EEG
Functional Roles for CNS Electrical Fields
Evidence for a Functioning Extracellular Electrical
System in the CNS
Drug Effects
Disease States
The Electrophysiology of Dreams
Chapter 7 The Complexity of Dreams: Neural networks and Consciousness
Biological Applications of Neural Net Theories
The Dreams of Neural Networks
Complexity of the Biologic System
The Limits of Dream
Structure
The Neurological Substrate of Dream
Section 3 Studying the Cognitive Substrate of Dreaming
Chapter 8 Dreams and Sleep: The Substrate Hypothesis
Dream Recall in Insomnia
Insomnia and Nightmare Recall Frequency
The Association Between Sleep and Mind
Chapter 9 Dreaming and Memory
Memory and Dreams
Imagery and Intrinsic Memory
Dream Recall
Dream content
EveryDay Memory and Mind
Dream Use
Memory and Mind
Chapter
The Brain/Computer Interface
Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence
The Perceptual Interface
The Motor Interface
Computation and Thought
Communication
Problem Solving
The Capabilities of Artificial Systems
Section 4 The Cognitive Process of Dreaming
Chapter 11 Emotions and Dream
Frightening Dreams
Emotions and Dreaming
Emotions and Mind
Emotional Dreaming
Chapter 12 Exploring the Visual Interface
Visual Consciousness
The Visual Representation of Space
Imagery
Dream Imagery
Artificial Dream Imagery – Filmmaking
Visual Components of Dreaming
Chapter 13 Thinking and Dreaming
Thinking in Dreams
Bizarreness in Dreams
Associative Thought in Dreams
The Neurological Basis of Thought
Thinking and the Mind
Section 5 The Cognitive Organization of Dreaming
What we know
The Formal Structure of Dreaming
Chapter 14 Hallucinations and Dreams
Dream-Like Phenomena
Parasomnias and Unusual Dreams
Are Dreams Hallucinations?
Chapter 15 Dreaming and Storytelling
The Narrative Structure of Thought
The Mythic Structure of Story
Dreams in Literature
Dreams in Screenplay
The Limits of Dream Imagery
The Power of the Story
Chapter 16 Film: The Projected Dream
Moving Pictures
The Visual Language of Film
Visual Imagery and Film
Apparatus Theory
Film Theory
Section 6 Functional uses for Dreaming
Chapter 17 Creativity
The Gestalt of Creativity
The Creative Personality
Psychoanalytic Creativity
Creativity as Divergent Thinking
The Disorder of Creativity
Dreaming Creatively
Chapter 18 Non-Dreaming or the Use of Dreams in Creativity
Creativity in the Sleep Laboratory
Dream Use and Creative Interest
Non-dreamers
The Creativity of Non-dreamers
Chapter 19 Dream use by Filmmakers
Screenwriters and Their Use of Dreams
Scriptwriting: The Dream-Like Process
Incubating a Screenplay
Dream Use by Directors
Dream Use by Actors
Sundance Interviews: Actors
Sundance Questionnaire Responses: Actors
Summary
Dream Use in the Creative Process
Chapter 20 Dreaming and Artists
Dream Use in Creativity: Psychopathology
Creativity and Dreaming
Borders of Mind
Section 7 Models of Mind and Brain
Chapter 21 Models of Mind = Brain
Transmission-Line Neuro-Processing
AIM
Alternative Monist Theories
Massively Parallel Neuro-Processing
Physiologic CNS Electrical Rhythms
Problems with Monists
Chapter 22 Mind not Brain: The Cartesian Psychoanalyst
Diseases of the Mind: The Psychoanalytic Approach
The Limitations of Psychoanalysis in the Diagnosis
Treatment of Psychiatric Illness
Psychoanalysis and the Structure of Mind
Cartesian Psychoanalysis
The Psychoanalytic Perspective of Mind
The Cartesian Psychoanalyst
Chapter 23 Viewing the Border Between Brain and Mind: A Modified Cartesian Perspective
Modified Cartesian Models
Visualizing the Mind/Brain Border
Dreaming Across the Border
Chapter 24 The Limits of Dream
Brain-Based Correlates of Mind
Mind-Based Cognitive Processes
The Limits of Knowledge: Borders
References
Index
Product details
- No. of pages: 250
- Language: English
- Copyright: © Academic Press 2008
- Published: March 24, 2008
- Imprint: Academic Press
- eBook ISBN: 9780080559605
- Hardcover ISBN: 9780123742155
About the Author
Jim Pagel
JF Pagel has authored more than 170 publications. His basic research addressed the electrophysiology of consciousness, the neurochemistry of sleep and dream, and the role of REM sleep in learning and memory. His clinical work includes proofs for non-dreaming and the requirement of sleep for dream and nightmare, the diagnostic code for nightmare disorder, a definition protocol for dream, and demonstrations that REM sleep and dreaming are doubly dissociable. He has developed approaches to treating insomnia, sleep & altitude, narcolepsy, pediatric parasomnias, and waking somnolence, as well as addressing dream and nightmare use in trauma, art, creativity and filmmaking. He is co-editor of one of the major sleep-medicine texts: Primary Care Sleep Disorders (2007/ 2014). His books include: The Limits of Dream – A Scientific Exploration of the Mind /Brain Interface (2007), Dreaming and Nightmares (ed.) (2010), and Dream Science – Exploring the Forms of Consciousness (2014).
Affiliations and Expertise
University of Colorado, School of Medicine, USA