Why Did Empirical Dream Researchers Reject Freud? A Critique of Historical Claims by Mark Solms.

Neuropsychologist and psychoanalyst Mark Solms (1997) made a major contribution to dream research through his clinico-anatomical studies, which reveal the outlines of the neural network that underlies dreaming. However, in more recent work (see record 2002-17656-000) he misunderstands the history of the rapid eye movement (REM)/non-REM (NREM) controversy in a Freudian-serving way and ignores the considerable systematic empirical evidence that contradicts the key claims of the Freudian dream theory he is trying to revive. After summarizing Solms's claims about the history of laboratory dream research, this article suggests a different version of that history and summarizes the empirical findings that explain why Freudian theory is not considered viable by most dream researchers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reply to Domhoff (2004): Dream Research in the Court of Public Opinion.

The author responds to Domhoff's critique (see record 2004-11640-001). He argues that the REM = dreaming equation was widely accepted at the time of his research. Misgivings about this equation by specialists in the dream research community were not shared by the wider public. The impression that the REM = dreaming equation disproves Freudian dream theory was actively propagated to this wider public between the 1970s and 1990s. The author's aim in the nonspecialist book criticized by Domhoff was to correct that specific misimpression, not to review the world literature. The author concludes with a brief statement of his views on Freudian dream theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Efficacy of imagery rehearsal treatment related to specialized populations: A case study and brief report.

This brief report examines the impact of imagery rehearsal treatment (IRT) on a 10-year-old boy with mild mental retardation and psychiatric illness. There is relatively little published information on the use of IRT to treat nightmares in children. The results in this case are consistent with reports of positive results from IRT in other studies with different populations. The findings in this study suggest that the limitations of IRT may not yet be known, and controlled studies with various populations are needed. This article also examines other factors present in this particular case that did not seem to impact the outcome, hence providing IRT with a robust appearance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evolution of structure and information processing in the nervous system: Part IV of a general theory

Starting from fundamental principles, evolution of the nervous system is modelled as a random walk process in a multidimensional representation space (the F-space). This space is not flat, it is highly structured in terms of step probability. Fundamental considerations of evolutionary speed, efficiency of information processing, and priorities lead to specific theoretical predictions of the most probable pathways of evolution of the nervous system and its mechanisms of information processing. These processes are represented as vector paths (F-paths) in the F-space. Cognition becomes a process of correlations of the input signal to information stored in memories. Higher level brain processes involve extrapolation and interpolation along F-paths, input data reduction by clearly specifiable abstraction methods, and a unique process using abstracted analogs. These processes define and limit what the brain does and how it can do it. These considerations lead to certain inevitable conclusions (consequences of the fundamental principles) for the basis of our logical reasoning, decision-making, the process of dreaming (conscious and sleep), and explicit definitions of consciousness, unconsciousness, and personality. Detailed applications of this theory for analyzing empirical findings are suggested in the final paragraphs.     

Review of The Mind at Night: The New Science of How and Why We Dream.

In this article I review "The Mind at Night: The New Science of How and Why We Dream," written by Andrea Rock. To begin with this book is an exciting journey through modern dream research. Scientific facts, which are skillfully explained, are complemented by personal accounts of well-known researchers in the field obtained through interviews. The diversity of the themes addressed in the book (e.g., sleep and memory, animal research, imaging studies, dream content analysis, consciousness research, creativity, and lucid dreaming) clearly shows the extensive "detective work" the author has accomplished. The major problem I had--as a researcher in this field--was the structure, or the lack of structure, within the book. Because of the way the book is organized, I decided to structure this review along the following themes: REM sleep, REM sleep and dreaming, biology of dreaming, dream content findings, and the integration of dream research into cognitive neuroscience in general. Despite the lack of structure of the book, Andrea Rock has written a wonderful book about modern dream research that is stimulating for researchers as well as for interested lay persons. I recommend it to everyone who is interested in dream research, the old question of the mind-body relationship, or understanding consciousness in general. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Century of Hybridization: Decreasing Genetic Distance Between American Black Ducks and Mallards

American black ducks (Anas rubripes) and mallards (A. platyrhynchos) are morphologically and behaviorally similar species that were primarily allopatric prior to European colonization of North America. Subsequent sympatry has resulted in hybridization, and recent molecular analyses of mallards and black ducks failed to identify two distinct taxa, either due to horizontal gene flow, homoplasy, or shared ancestry. We analyzed microsatellite markers in modern and museum specimens to determine if the inter-relatedness of mallards and black ducks was an ancestral or recent character. Gst, a measure of genetic differentiation, decreased from 0.146 for mallards and black ducks living before 1940, to 0.008 for birds taken in 1998. This is a significant reduction in genetic differentiation, and represents a breakdown in species integrity most likely due to hybridization. Using modern specimens, we observed that despite a lower incidence of sympatry, northern black ducks are now no more distinct from mallards than their southern conspecifics.