Dream Catcher

The neuroscience of our night life

Patrick McNamara Ph.D.

5HT2A Serotonin Receptor System in Dreaming

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

Nightmares in African Americans

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

The Reality Sense in Dreams

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

Are Dreams Less Real Than Waking Perceptions?

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

Sleep and the Social Brain

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

You Really Need to Be Tracking Your Dreams

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.

Sleep, Genetic Conflict, and Human Longevity

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.

Some Resources for People Interested in Sleep and Dreams

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

The Neural Correlates of Dreaming

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

Dream Interpretation

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

Virtual Reality and Dream Research

Virtual reality environments may be used to influence dream content patterns

Dreaming in the Library of Babel

Borges' story describes the plight of librarians seeking to understand an infinite library containing both gibberish and useful information.

Children's Dreams and Nightmares

Recurring nightmares in early childhood need to be treated as they may portend later behavioral problems

Dreams of Finding Treasure

Unearthing buried treasure in your dream may predict a period of creativity in your life

Non-Self Characters in Lucid Dreams

Non-self dream characters are not simple expressions of a sub-personality of the dreamer.

Can Two People Have the Same Dream?

We have no good scientific explanations for shared dreams. Perhaps that is why science has not yet investigated these events.

Arianna Huffington's Sleep Revolution

Arianna Huffington's new book "The sleep revolution" effectively lays out the public health consequences of sleep loss and then points to a way forward to address this crisis

Sleep Paralysis

Do dreams leave us paralyzed during REM sleep?

Are Dreams Required for Memory?

Dreams may decompose autobiographical elements and then recombine them in creative ways to create our long term memories.

Dopamine and Dreams

Dopamine is central to motivation and reward and may be central to dreams as well.

Review of Windt's Book on Dreams

Windt expertly and systematically reviews the latest research on the nature of dreams.

People Who Don't Dream Might Not Recall Their Dreams

Although some people swear that they have never dreamed new data suggests that they may be mistaken.

Are We Responsible for Our Violent Dreams?

Mental content of dreams can sometimes perfectly coincide with mental content of overt behavioral acts and that fact can raise thorny legal and philosophical issues.

Recent Research on REM Sleep Functions

REM has been shown to be genetically determined and important for emotional memory.

New developments in sleep and development

in order to understand functions of sleep we need to study the ways in which it develops in the child

12 Most Commonly Asked Questions About Dreams, Answered

What is the current scientific consensus concerning dreams?

New Evidence on Dreams and Memory

The dream lag effect, wherein images from daily events appear in dreams 5-7 days later, appears to be restricted to personally significant events only.

Dreams and Narrative

Why are dreams like stories? Because they are made to be interpreted.

Music and Dreams: The Case of the Beatles

Why are some forms of music relatively rare in dreams? Dreams screen out redundant and parasitic forms of information but will process musical phrases that violate expectancies

Why Some of Your Dreams Have Sequels

Dreams may have a life of their own if they can store dream specific memories over time.

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