The New Science of Dreaming

With a breadth including breaking research from around the world, this set created by a team of experts is the most authoritative source that exists regarding the biology and psychology of dreaming. Readers will not only understand the new science of dreams, but how that science could lead to innovations in the medical, social technical and biotech fields.

Although it has been described since ancient times, dreaming remains a somewhat mysterious mental process, and scientists around the world continue to study its mechanisms and meanings. In this unique set of books, experts in the field from around the globe gather to show the newest and most exciting research and findings related to the biology and psychology of dreaming. New studies of dream content, for example, show that across age groups, cultures and clinical groups, dreams have recurring themes. New brain imaging techniques show us specific brain regions involved in dreaming. Other research featured here describes the biology or psychology of realistic and bizarre dreams, of symbolic images in dreams, and of how differences in gender and personality affect dreams and dreaming. The newest and most extensive source of information on dreaming in existence, this set gives readers insights into how this new science could lead to innovations in the medical, social, technical, and biotech fields.

Dozens of contributors—some top experts in their fields known internationally—show us how brain functions affect and are affected by dreaming and why these new findings should be important to all of us. Volume I spotlights the biology of sleep and dreaming. Volume II focuses on dream content and its many facets. In Volume III, the many theoretical accounts of dreams are presented.

Deirdre Barrett is Clinical Psychologist and Assistant Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School. She is Past President of the Association for the Study of Dreams and author of three books on dreams. Dr. Barrett is Editor-in-Chief of the journal Dreaming and President of the American Psychological Association's Division 30, The Society for Psychological Hypnosis. Her commentary on dreams has been featured on Good Morning America, The Today Show, CNN, The Discovery Channel, and Voice of America. She has been interviewed for articles on dreams by the Washington Post, the New York Times, Life, TIME, and Newsweek.

Patrick McNamara is Director of the Evolutionary Neurobehavior Laboratory in the Department of Neurology at the Boston University School of Medicine and the VA New England Healthcare System. A graduate of the Behavioral Neuroscience Program at Boston University, he trained at the Aphasia Research Center at the Boston VA Medical Center. Dr. McNamara is also Editor of Where God and Science Meet: How Brain and Evolutionary Studies Alter Our Understanding of Religion, 3 volumes (Praeger, 2006) and An Evolutionary Psychology of Sleep and Dreams (Praeger, 2004).