ABSTRACT

After 50 Years of REM Research, Do We Understand The Dream?

William Dement MD. Professor Emeritus, Stanford University, Founder of the pioneering Stanford Sleep Disorder Clinic, author of The Promise of Sleep, Some Must Watch While Others Sleep and many other publications. Dr. Dement identified the 90 minute sleep cycle in humans and taught an enormously popular course on Sleep and Dreams taken by over ten thousand Stanford undergrads over a thirty year period. He has lectured all over the world,  has received many awards and is recognized as one of the premier authorities in the world on sleep.

Summary of Presentation

In the fifty years since the identification of REM by Aserinsky and Kleitman in 1953 much has been learned about sleeping and dreaming. Dr. Dement will reflect on what we have learned in the last half century and where the field is headed in the Twenty-First century.

Learning Objectives.

1) To understand the development of research on REM sleep over the past 50 years and its relationship to dreaming.

2) To understand recent developments in brain imaging and their relevance to dreaming.

3) To appreciate that dreaming and REM sleep are separate concepts—that either can occur without the other, under certain circumstances

Evaluation questions

1)       What stage of sleep has the highest correlation with dreaming?

2)       What is sleep debt and how does it affect waking cognition and perception?

3)       How does a night terror differ from a nightmare?

Abstract 

In the fifty years since the identification of REM by Aserinsky and Kleitman in 1953 much has been learned about sleeping and dreaming. Dr. Dement will reflect on what we have learned in the last half century and where the field is headed in the Twenty-First century.

 Dr. Dement will provide historical background on the discovery of REM, the early background of the establishment of the field of sleep medicine and the history and accomplishments of the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic. He will asleep summarize key developments in our understanding of the neurobiology of sleep and dreaming, the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders, and accomplishments in the study of the meaning and functions of dreams. He will also summarize the current state of research and emphasize the importance of sleep hygiene and the deleterious effect of sleep debt on public health and occupational safety. He will also discuss directions for future research.

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