Answering questions at Boston College O’Neill Library
How do you know it was a dream….. š It could mean any number of things (including maybe too much pepperoni pizza before bed). You may be interested in reading: Goodwyn, The neurobiology of the gods : How brain physiology shapes the recurrent imagery of myth and dreams (BF458 .G66 2012).
The meaning of dreams has long been a subject of debate. Traditionally, losing teeth in dreams is considered to represent anxiety of some sort (and not necessarily dental). You can find more about interpreting dreams in the stacks in the BF 1091 area, or for more about the neuroscience behind dreaming see: Goodwyn, The neurobiology of the gods : How brain physiology shapes the recurrent imagery of myth and dreams (BF458 .G66 2012).
Wow, we just acquired newly-published book on this (but I feel like I’ve seen it before….!) The cognitive neuropsychology of deĢjaĢ vu, QP360.5 .M68 2018. It has a chapter on “Theories of deĢjaĢ vu formation” which will probably answer your questions.
Starting with Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, Western psychologists have had a lot to say about dreams. (The Interpretation of Dreams, by Freud: O’Neill BF1078 .F748 1999, Dreams by Carl Jung: online at bit.ly/jstor-jung-dreams). Of course, humans have been interpreting dreams for millennia. For a very different perspective, you might also be interested in Ancestral power: the Dreaming, consciousness and aboriginal Australians, by Lynne Hume (O’Neill BL2610 .H86 2002) Neurologists generally take a more functional view: the brain reshuffles neural connections from the recent past to cement memories. The brain also uses certain sleep cycles to rinse toxins out of the brain (bit.ly/science-brainwash) that otherwise might lead to conditions like Huntington’s Disease or Alzheimer’s. IOW your dreams are for brainwashing.
