The Paradox of Sleep: The Story of Dreaming [Paperback]

Michel Jouvet (Author), Laurence Garey (Translator)

Book Description

Series: Bradford Books | Publication Date: February 19, 2001

Michel Jouvet is perhaps the world's leading sleep and dream researcher. He discovered a mysterious dream state that he called paradoxical sleep. This third category of brain activity (distinct from sleeping and waking) is a state of very deep sleep with some specific motor events, including rapid eye movements (REM). In The Paradox of Sleep, Jouvet takes the reader on a scientific and sociological tour of the history of sleep and dream research, concluding with his own ideas on the function of dreaming.Jouvet tells the story of a handful of neurobiologists, including himself, who pioneered sleep and dream research in the 1950s. He describes the technical and ideological obstacles they faced and opens his own laboratory to the reader, explaining anatomical, biochemical, and even genetic techniques. He also touches on psychological, philosophical, and metaphysical aspects of sleep and dreaming.A key section of the book is Jouvet's discussion of why we dream. After summarizing Freud's theory of dreams, he contrasts it with current neurobiological data. Finally, he outlines his own controversial theory about why we dream: to preserve our individuality. Dreaming, claims Jouvet, is necessary for the genetic reprogramming of our brain.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"I do not believe that you need coherent behavior in science."

When an author begins a book with words like these, the reader is allowed to expect a lot. Fortunately, Michel Jouvet delivers with The Paradox of Sleep, a rare synthesis of poetry and hard science covering one of the most bizarre and inexplicable aspects of human experience, the dream. While 20 percent of us don't remember them, it's a safe bet that all of us fly, take tests, or show up at parties in our underwear every night while fast asleep, and neuroscience has only recently caught up with other scientific efforts to explain why. Jouvet was a pioneer who discovered that "paradoxical sleep"--what the rest of us call the REM, or "rapid eye movement" phase--is in fact as different from dreamless sleep as the latter is from waking. This collection of essays, seamlessly woven into a narrative whole, explains the differences between sleep states, discusses relevant animal and human research, explores the meaning of our dreams within the context of our scientific knowledge, and speculates on the evolutionary function of dreaming. Jouvet's prose reaches further than just listing interesting facts and consistently bridges the gap between our 20th-century knowledge and our medieval sense of wonder. How can a modern scientist get away with integrating deep spiritual questions with precise analysis of experimental data? It's a tough question, but one that we can hope more scientists begin asking themselves after reading The Paradox of Sleep. --Rob Lightner --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

Paradoxical sleep was the phrase coined by Jouvet to describe the dreaming state. The French physiologist, now retired from the University of Lyon, reflects on his life's work with emphasis on the hows and whys of dreaming. In the 1950s, Jouvet, along with a group of researchers in Chicago, related rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep to dreaming. This state, as different from deep sleep as deep sleep is from wakefulness, occupies up to 100 minutes a night in adults. During dreaming, voluntary limb movements are blocked: The body is essentially paralyzed (except for eye movements and other small movements, such as that of the tongue). Jouvet's early work established that REM sleep and dreaming seem to be the province of warm-blooded animalsbirds and mammals, excluding dolphins. Within those groups, cats may be the star dreamers and sleepers (as most cat owners would attest). When surgery or drugs block the mechanisms that normally paralyze body movements during dreaming, dream actions are actually played out. Cats will stalk, play with imaginary prey, show fear or rage, etc., reflecting the temperament they show while awake. Jouvet is the first to confess to the false starts in dream research he and others have made; he also points to the too easy analogies popularized over the years. The current focus on molecular biology has not been a boon to his field, but neither has the tradition of Freud and psychoanalysis. Jouvet ends with his admittedly speculative theory that we need dreaming to preserve our unique ``psychological heredity.'' He suggests this occurs through iterative programming involving selective activation of various neurons and circuits during dreaming. Jouvet presents a lesson in science: although we are better able to explore the brain with today's sophisticated tools, we will not fathom the purpose of dreams until we go beyond molecules and genes to complexly relate whole organs and systems to functionsa new physiology. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 227 pages
• Publisher: A Bradford Book (February 19, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262600404
• ISBN-13: 978-0262600408
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,126,913 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Hypothesis, June 19, 2003

By 

J. Eure (Charlottesville, VA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Paradox of Sleep: The Story of Dreaming (Paperback)

Having completed my thesis on the functions of REM sleep, I have read a great deal in the area of sleep research.

While Jouvet is undoubtedly one of the pioneers in sleep research, this book is less than ground-breaking. Jouvet postulates that the function of REM sleep is to periodically reinforce genetic programs, in order to maintain the functional synaptic circuits responsible for our psychological heredity. Basically, he is saying this "genetic reprogramming" would restore our individuality and diversity within our species, despite a changing environment. The hypothesis presented is rarely acknowledged in current literature on the subject and Jouvet has little to support his hypthesis.

I was left with many more questions than I started with, but that could be good. The translation is mediocre but Jouvet throws in some kind of houty chuckles every once in a while that make it bearable.

If you want to read a very comprehensive, readable and informative book on sleep, I would recommend 'Sleep' by J.Allan Hobson.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A world of dreams, February 9, 2006

By 

Newton Ooi (Phoenix, Arizona United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Paradox of Sleep: The Story of Dreaming (Paperback)

Why do humans sleep? This question offers many answers. Physical rest at first seems the logical answer, but individuals deprived of sleep but allowed physical rest are often just as tired as those who worked thru the night. Resting the brain might be the next logical answer. This book looks at the latter reason, and takes it several steps further. Specifically, Dr. Jouvet argues that the primary purpose of sleep is to dream, and that dreaming is genetically hard-wired into the human organism, and is essential a human function as breathing, eating and drinking.

The author goes over the history of sleep research, of which he is a reknowned expert. He examines research done on both humans and other animals, and shows us what we know, and what we don't know, about sleep and dreaming. He cites experimental data that shows how dreaming is often the central part of sleep, and how those allowed to sleep, but prevented from dreaming, can suffer numerous medical and psychological problems.

Overall, this is an interesting book. The book serves as a good introduction to the science of sleep, dreaming, nuerology, and psychology. The book also is well-referenced, and gives good background on this topic. Overall, I recommend this book.

5 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A magnificent tour de force revealing the human psyche, February 5, 2000

By 

Alex (College Park, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Paradox of Sleep: The Story of Dreaming (Hardcover)

This is an excellent work describing the new thought in the scientiic study of sleep. Finally, a work that describes why we see strange situations in our dreams without resorting to mysticism.