Why do we dream? Part 2

We discuss a wide range of topics in this episode.  Topics include the neural architecture that research suggests underlies dreams, and how quick jerky motions in sleep may be critical to proper development of the nervous system and how these movements can transform into sleep walking.  We also discuss lucid dreaming, and techniques to increase the frequency of lucid dreams - as well as research devoted to developing technology that'll enable us to record our dreams as movies.

Literature referenced:

1. Hobson JA, Friston KJ. Waking and dreaming consciousness: neurobiological and functional considerations. Prog Neurobiol. 2012 Jul;98(1):82-98. doi: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2012.05.003. Epub 2012 May 15. Review. PubMed PMID: 22609044; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3389346.
2. Dresler M, Wehrle R, Spoormaker VI, Steiger A, Holsboer F, Czisch M, Hobson JA. Neural correlates of insight in dreaming and psychosis. Sleep Med Rev. 2015 Apr;20:92-9. doi: 10.1016/j.smrv.2014.06.004. Epub 2014 Jun 25. Review. PubMed PMID: 25092021.
3. Blumberg MS, Plumeau AM. A new view of "dream enactment" in REM sleep behavior disorder. Sleep Med Rev. 2015 Dec 17;30:34-42. doi: 10.1016/j.smrv.2015.12.002. [Epub ahead of print] Review. PubMed PMID: 26802823; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4912466.
4. Domhoff GW, Fox KC. Dreaming and the default network: A review, synthesis, and counterintuitive research proposal. Conscious Cogn. 2015 May;33:342-53. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2015.01.019. Epub 2015 Feb 24. Review. PubMed PMID: 25723600.
5. Dresler M, Wehrle R, Spoormaker VI, Steiger A, Holsboer F, Czisch M, Hobson JA. Neural correlates of insight in dreaming and psychosis. Sleep Med Rev. 2015 Apr;20:92-9. doi: 10.1016/j.smrv.2014.06.004. Epub 2014 Jun 25. Review. PubMed PMID: 25092021.
6. Smith K. Brain decoding: Reading minds. Nature. 2013 Oct 24;502(7472):428-30. doi: 10.1038/502428a. PubMed PMID: 24153277.
7. 2016 Daniel Oldis - Can we turn our dreams into watchable movies (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dreamscloud/can-we-turn-our-dreams-in_b_9152612.html)
8. Aspy DJ. Is dream recall underestimated by retrospective measures and enhanced by keeping a logbook? An empirical investigation. Conscious Cogn. 2016 May;42:181-203. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2016.03.015. Epub 2016 Mar 26. PubMed PMID: 27023923.
9. Voss U, Holzmann R, Hobson A, Paulus W, Koppehele-Gossel J, Klimke A, Nitsche MA. Induction of self awareness in dreams through frontal low current stimulation of gamma activity. Nat Neurosci. 2014 Jun;17(6):810-2. doi: 10.1038/nn.3719. Epub 2014 May 11. PubMed PMID: 24816141.
10. Stumbrys T, Erlacher D, Schädlich M, Schredl M. Induction of lucid dreams: a systematic review of evidence. Conscious Cogn. 2012 Sep;21(3):1456-75. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2012.07.003. Epub 2012 Jul 28. Review. PubMed PMID: 22841958.
11. Bray N. Sleep: Inducing lucid dreams. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2014 Jul;15(7):428. doi: 10.1038/nrn3769. Epub 2014 May 29. PubMed PMID: 24871898.

Why do we dream? Part 1

Dreams are quite easily one of the most common topics on the minds of most people, judging by my interactions with folks on Periscope, my friends, and random people who find out that I study the brain.  This doesn't surprise me in the slightest.  When else can you experience what it might be like to breathe underwater, or fly through the center of the sun, without questioning the experience in the slightest?

Despite being so universally interesting, and having been a subject of inquiry dating at least back to Aristotle (On Dreams, written in 350 B.C.E), dreams remain among the most widely debated topics in psychology, philosophy, and neuroscience.  We chat about the various theories that have cropped up over time, and then discuss some of the more recent discoveries and theories to try and understand why & how we dream, and the contributions dreaming makes to the development of who you are.

Literature referenced:

1. Hobson JA. REM sleep and dreaming: towards a theory of protoconsciousness. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2009 Nov;10(11):803-13. doi: 10.1038/nrn2716. Epub 2009 Oct 1. Review. PubMed PMID: 19794431.
2. Hobson JA, Friston KJ. Waking and dreaming consciousness: neurobiological and functional considerations. Prog Neurobiol. 2012 Jul;98(1):82-98. doi: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2012.05.003. Epub 2012 May 15. Review. PubMed PMID: 22609044; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3389346.
3. Rechtschaffen A. The single-mindedness and isolation of dreams. Sleep. 1978 Sep;1(1):97-109. PubMed PMID: 227026.
4. Bray N. Sleep: Inducing lucid dreams. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2014 Jul;15(7):428. doi: 10.1038/nrn3769. Epub 2014 May 29. PubMed PMID: 24871898.
5. Boyce R, Glasgow SD, Williams S, Adamantidis A. Causal evidence for the role of REM sleep theta rhythm in contextual memory consolidation. Science. 2016 May 13;352(6287):812-6. doi: 10.1126/science.aad5252. PubMed PMID: 27174984.
6. Dresler M, Wehrle R, Spoormaker VI, Steiger A, Holsboer F, Czisch M, Hobson JA. Neural correlates of insight in dreaming and psychosis. Sleep Med Rev. 2015 Apr;20:92-9. doi: 10.1016/j.smrv.2014.06.004. Epub 2014 Jun 25. Review. PubMed PMID: 25092021.
7. Domhoff GW, Fox KC. Dreaming and the default network: A review, synthesis, and counterintuitive research proposal. Conscious Cogn. 2015 May;33:342-53. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2015.01.019. Epub 2015 Feb 24. Review. PubMed PMID: 25723600.
8. Blumberg MS, Plumeau AM. A new view of "dream enactment" in REM sleep behavior disorder. Sleep Med Rev. 2015 Dec 17;30:34-42. doi: 10.1016/j.smrv.2015.12.002. [Epub ahead of print] Review. PubMed PMID: 26802823; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4912466.
9. Peever J, Fuller PM. Neuroscience: A Distributed Neural Network Controls REM Sleep. Curr Biol. 2016 Jan 11;26(1):R34-5. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2015.11.011. PubMed PMID: 26766231.
10. Schredl M. Dreams and Nightmares in Personality Disorders. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2016 Feb;18(2):15. doi: 10.1007/s11920-015-0653-2. PubMed PMID: 26781553.
11. Stumbrys T, Erlacher D, Schädlich M, Schredl M. Induction of lucid dreams: a systematic review of evidence. Conscious Cogn. 2012 Sep;21(3):1456-75. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2012.07.003. Epub 2012 Jul 28. Review. PubMed PMID: 22841958.