Nightmares : the science and solution of those frightening visions during sleep / Patrick McNamara.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [153]-169) and index.

Ch. 1. Approach to the Study of Nightmares -- Shortcomings of the Standard "Take" on Nightmares -- Nightmares Can Be Functional -- Definition and Diagnostic Criteria for Recurrent Nightmares -- Syndrome of Recurring Nightmares -- The Sharing of Nightmares with Others -- Ch. 2. Why Do Nightmares Occur in Children? -- Sleep in Childhood -- Dreaming in Childhood -- Evolution of Childhood -- Cognitive and Psychological Growth of the Child -- Development of the Sense of Self in Children -- Impact of Developmental Milestones on Nightmare Propensity in Children -- Ch. 3. Content of Nightmares -- Comparing Nightmare Content to Ordinary Dreams -- Nightmare Content Scoring -- Word Count Analyses of Barb Sanders' Nightmares -- Nightmares as Compelling: The Case of "Precognitive Nightmares" -- People Who Experience Extraordinary Dreams Must Be Extraordinary People -- Ch. 4. Nightmares in Premodern Societies -- Nightmares as Evidence of Extraordinary Powers in Ancestral Populations -- Dreams in Premodern Societies -- Cultural Context of Dreaming in Premodern Societies -- Nightmare Sharing in Premodern Groups -- Ch. 5. Biology of Nightmares -- Normal Human Sleep Architecture -- Sleep Rebound Effects and REM-NREM Imbalances in Production of Nightmares -- Special Link between Nightmares and REM Sleep -- Summary of REM Properties and Nightmares -- Key Role of the Amygdala -- Selected Neuropharmacological Agents Can Induce Nightmares -- Neuroanatomy and Physiology of a Nightmare -- Ch. 6. Personality and Psychopathological Correlates of Nightmares -- Nightmares Are Not Reliably Associated with Loss of Function -- Disorders Involving Nightmares -- Nightmares and Psychopathology -- Ch. 7. Phenomenology of the Nightmare -- Basic Visual Features -- Emotional Atmosphere -- Automaticity -- Cognitive Content Elicits the Emotional Content -- Creativity -- "Compellingness" -- Narrative Form -- Self-Identity -- Lack of Metaphor -- Self-Reflectiveness -- Mind Reading -- Summary of Formal Features of Nightmares -- Ch. 8. Theoretical Accounts of the Nightmare -- Facts That Must Serve as the Basis for Nightmare Theory -- Proposed Functional Theory of Nightmares -- Costly Signaling Theory (CST) -- Freud's View of Nightmares -- Fisher's View of Nightmares -- Kramer's View of Nightmares -- Hartmann's View of Nightmares -- Nielsen and Levin's View of Nightmares -- Theory and Treatment Strategies -- Ch. 9. Nightmares and Popular Culture -- Movies, Nightmares, and Spirit Possession -- Nightmare-Related Spirit Possession Is a Universal Phenomenon -- Alien Abduction -- Books, Nightmares, and Spirit Possession -- Ch. 10. Interpretation of the Possession Theme in Nightmares -- Selection of Nightmares with Spirit Possession Themes -- Caveats in the Interpretation of Nightmares and Standard Explanations of the Possession Theme -- Recurring Patterns in the Spirit-Possession Theme -- Ch. 11. Conflict Theory and the Nightmare -- Mind Is Not a Unity -- Paradox of Mind Reading in Dreams: The Role of the "Stranger" -- Male Strangers and Aggression in Dreams -- REM-NREM Dissociations in the Dreaming Mind -- Dreaming and Consciousness -- Dream Agents/Characters Can Represent Genomes within the Individual -- Effects of Imprinted Genes on Physiologic Systems Implicated in Growth -- Effects of Imprinted Genes on Functional Brain Systems Implicated in Sleep Processes -- Genomic Imprinting and Sleep-State Biology -- Genetic Conflict and Dream Phenomenology -- App. Additional Resources -- References -- Index.

"Nightmares affect people across countries and cultures, with some 10 percent of the world's population reporting recurrent nightmares. Parents have reported, and science has recorded, nightmares in children as young as 18 months. Up to 40 percent of children aged 2 to 12 experience nightmares, as do some 35 percent of veterans and 50 percent of adults with chronic illness." "With this book, a psychologist widely known in his field shows how nightmares evolved and were useful to ancestral populations, and why nightmares may carry beneficial functional effects even today for people who suffer from the pulse-pumping dreams. McNamara brings us up to date on the biology of the nightmare and what, specifically, happens in the brain during the event. He also explains the history and development of nightmares and likely causes, including traumatic events, psychological and physical disorders, and commonly consumed medications." "Many examples of nightmares are presented and explained. The content of nightmares is given unusually detailed attention, and the latest science on nightmares is succinctly reviewed. Tables in every chapter summarize existing findings and conclusions on nightmares, and strategies for dealing with nightmares are described. In this novel view, McNamara shows why, rather than being harmful, nightmares can be a helpful adaptive system."--BOOK JACKET.