Dream Catcher

Machines are now learning how to dream.

Dreaming

Treatment for Nightmares and Bad Dreams

Patrick McNamara Ph.D. on April 2, 2019

Most people with nightmares are not aware that there are effective therapies available for them.

Most people with nightmares are not aware that there are effective therapies available for them.

Dreaming

Dreams and Death

Patrick McNamara Ph.D. on February 28, 2019

In hospice patients, an increased number of dreams about deceased loved ones significantly predicts death.

In hospice patients, an increased number of dreams about deceased loved ones significantly predicts death.

Dreaming

Experiencing Previous Dreams

Patrick McNamara Ph.D. on February 7, 2019

“Déjà-rêvé” (“already dreamed”) experiences can be elicited with electrical brain stimulation deep to right-sided medial temporal lobes.

“Déjà-rêvé” (“already dreamed”) experiences can be elicited with electrical brain stimulation deep to right-sided medial temporal lobes.

What fueled the extraordinary evolutionary expansion in human brain capacity and intelligence?

Dreaming

Evidence That Dreams Help Us Learn

Patrick McNamara Ph.D. on November 25, 2018

If you dream about something that you had been studying, you are more likely to learn that material well.

If you dream about something that you had been studying, you are more likely to learn that material well.

Dreaming

Left-Handedness, Brain Evolution, Sleep, and Dreams

Patrick McNamara Ph.D. on October 18, 2018

We used to think that language caused handedness, but REM sleep may be involved as well.

We used to think that language caused handedness, but REM sleep may be involved as well.

Sleep

Sleep and Apathy

Patrick McNamara Ph.D. on August 18, 2018

Being tired is different from being apathetic, and sleep deprivation can induce both.

Being tired is different from being apathetic, and sleep deprivation can induce both.

Dreaming

Visitation Dreams II: Dreams of the Bereaved

Patrick McNamara Ph.D. on June 29, 2018

The deceased appear alive again in so-called "visitation dreams."

The deceased appear alive again in so-called "visitation dreams."

Dreaming

Integrating Dreamwork Into Clinical Practice

Patrick McNamara Ph.D. on May 17, 2018

Dreamwork in therapy allows a reticent client to explore core issues in therapy.

Dreamwork in therapy allows a reticent client to explore core issues in therapy.

Dreaming

5HT2A Serotonin Receptor System in Dreaming

Patrick McNamara Ph.D. on February 15, 2018

5HT2A may be responsible for both your dreams and your social success.

5HT2A may be responsible for both your dreams and your social success.

Although recurrent nightmares are likely to be prevalent among African Americans, there are few or no studies of nightmares in this population.

Dreaming

The Reality Sense in Dreams

Patrick McNamara Ph.D. on November 22, 2017

Sensory processing during REM may partially explain why we accept dream events as real.

Sensory processing during REM may partially explain why we accept dream events as real.

No good arguments have yet been produced to demonstrate that dreams are less real than waking perceptions.

Each night key structures of the social brain are deactivated during NREM and then reactivated during REM. Why?

Dreaming

You Really Need to Be Tracking Your Dreams

Patrick McNamara Ph.D. on August 1, 2017

Recording and working with your dreams on a regular basis may allow you to better predict your illnesses, cultivate your creativity and improve your daily social interactions.

Recording and working with your dreams on a regular basis may allow you to better predict your illnesses, cultivate your creativity and improve your daily social interactions.

Non-optimal sleep durations carry a differential cost for males because too little or too much sleep is associated with defective sperm quality and shorter telomere lengths.

Sleep

Some Resources for People Interested in Sleep and Dreams

Patrick McNamara Ph.D. on June 22, 2017

Big data initiatives in sleep and dreams will revolutionize sleep and dream research.

Big data initiatives in sleep and dreams will revolutionize sleep and dream research.

Dreaming can occur in all sleep states and is associated with a particular brain region.

This simple four-step decoding scheme can unlock the basic meaning elements in any dream.