When brains dream Exploring the science and mystery of sleep

Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Psychologist Zadra and psychiatry professor Stickgold team up for this thorough look into "the relationship between brains, minds, and dreams." To answer such questions as what dreams are and what they mean, the authors present a history of dreaming (and note that German psychologist Karl Scherner's 1861 book on the ego and dream symbolism predated Freud's better-known The Interpretation of Dreams) and bring things up to the present with a discussion of work done with fMRI, a kind of imaging that allows researchers to see which parts of the brain are active in stages of sleep. At the heart of the work is the authors' Network Exploration to Understand Possibilities (NEXTUP) model, which proposes that dreaming is a "form of sleep-dependent memory processing" in which human brains connect dots they couldn't when awake. The authors follow the implications of this model, touching on such dream-related disorders as sleep paralysis, which they argue is a dream dysfunction because it is "of no use for memory processing." Like art, they conclude, dreaming "enriches our life while helping to guide us." This smart mix of science and theory hits the mark. (Jan.)

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Review by Library Journal Review

What are dreams? Humanity has been trying to answer this question for thousands of years, with little success. Zadra and Stickgold are prominent researchers in the field, studying dreaming since the early 1990s, with over 200 scientific papers on the subject combined. They propose that we are closer to understanding the nature of dreams now more than ever. The goal of this book is to show why the human brain needs to dream while offering new answers. It explores the concept of dreaming from the beginnings of our experience with dreams as children, and systematically moves through the scientific and psychological approaches to the study of dreams. The authors present a compilation of the wealth of recent insights and discoveries about the sleeping brain and the nature of dreams, connecting ideas and findings from a broad scholarly resource base. Drawing on their extensive research and expertise, Zadra and Stickgold propose a new and innovative model of dream function called NEXTUP (Network Exploration to Understand Possibilities). Included is an extensive bibliography, as well as suggested readings. VERDICT A deep exploration into the world of dreams that is highly recommended for anyone interested in delving more into this topic.--Gary Medina, El Camino Coll., Torrance, CA

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

Two sleep and dream researchers illuminate their specialty. Zadra and Stickgold hit the ground running by insisting that Freud did not have the last word on dreams--or even the first. Earlier 19th-century scientists produced theories that Freud adopted or ignored, but his immense influence, especially the belief that he had discovered the source and meaning of dreams, discouraged research until decades after his death. Matters have improved since then, as psychological studies as well as neuroscience, aided by high-tech brain scanners, reveal a great deal about brain function. All animals sleep, but until perhaps 50 years ago, experts had no explanation except that it relieved sleepiness, and the popular explanation--to tidy up and rejuvenate the body--never acquired traction. The authors emphasize its essential role in learning and memory. In studies where subjects memorized a topic, a night's sleep improved their ability to recall--but didn't improve accuracy, as they also recalled errors better. Turning to their favorite subject, the authors agree with the "widely held view that dreams reflect the dreamer's current thoughts and concerns as well as recent salient experiences," but they doubt that dreams carry important messages and require interpretation. They explain dreaming as a form of "sleep-dependent memory processing" that "extracts new knowledge" from recent experiences but rarely offers "concrete solutions" to problems. Most readers will understand the authors' theories, but they will especially relish the final chapters, which explore nightmares, lucid dreaming, narcolepsy, creativity via dreams, and even how to link a dream to waking-life events. Readers convinced that dreams reveal deep insights and those who dismiss them as meaningless will both enjoy a painless education on dreams and memory. Few will object to the authors' preferred theory because, as good scientists, they present their evidence without claiming that it's overwhelming. An excellent update on the science behind dreams. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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