PREFACE This reference book was born out of a love for sleep and dreaming. The three edi- tors come from very different backgrounds but share a deep interest in sleep and dream research. They also share the desire to educate people on topics such as what dreams are and how we can study them, how dreams are brought about by the sleeping brain, whether dreams serve a function, how dreams are influenced by our waking experiences, how we can alleviate the suffering caused by bad dreams and nightmares, how we assign meaning to dreams psychologically and culturally, and how working with dreams can increase self-knowledge. The book is an in-depth authoritative tutorial reference, written by over 70 researchers, psychologists, humanities professionals, and other leading subject- matter experts. It is written for students, professionals, and anyone interested in the most recent understanding of dreams and dreaming. The book spans the evo- lutionary perspectives on sleep and dreaming to the most current research into the neuroscience, as well as current psychological theory, therapeutic application, and the artistic and cultural treatment of dreams. Part 1 in Volume 1 focuses on the biology of sleep and dreaming. First, the phylogeny, neural mechanisms, and functions of sleep are discussed, along with description of human sleep architecture. Given dreams occur during sleep, address- ing questions about dreaming is greatly aided by understanding what the underly­ ing sleep state is like and why we sleep. Following this, the neural correlates related to dreaming are explored: what brain areas seem to be active when we dream and what kind of brain activity patterns might be necessary for dreaming to occur. Then we move on to discuss whether dream consciousness might be just a side-effect waking consciousness or whether dreaming might serve a specific function. Do dreams contribute to emotion processing or memory consolidation, or has dream- ing about particular topics possibly enhanced the survival and reproductive success
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