Customer Reviews

The Scientific Study of Dreams: Neural Networks, Cognitive Development, and Content Analysis

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For far too long, most books about dreaming have been the realm of TV psychologists, mystics, and charlatans; G. William Domhoff is working to change all of that. This book is an excellent overview of recent breakthroughs and future possibilities in quantitative content analysis and neuroimaging studies. Domhoff also makes a convincing case for abandoning the Freudian and Jungian tenets that strangled dream research for most of the last century -- and he sows the seeds of a new cognitive theory that could guide research in the new millennium.

This is an incredibly dry, uninspiring work of scientific literature. It does an effective job of present new developments in dream science since the activation-synthesis, including those of Solms and Foulkes. However, the majority of this work is bogged down with precise discussion of experiments and the author's favored dream-content analysis method. Compared with Hobson's 'The Dreaming Brain,' this work feels like a very weak response.

My area of interest is REM sleep and dreaming and I have read many books and scientific journal articles on the subject. This book is full of statistics and data and is so dry I became dehydrated reading it. It is a good resource for someone who is conducting research on the cognitive aspects of dreams and their content. It is not a good book to get if you are new to the subject. Please read my "So you want to...learn about sleep and dreams" for some great recommendations on the subject.