Profs and Pints Online presents: “What Dreams Are Made Of,” a look at the new science of sleep and dreams, with Antonio Zadra, professor of psychology at the Université de Montréal, researcher at the Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, and co-author of When Brains Dream: Exploring the Science and Mystery of Sleep.

[This talk will remain available in recorded form at the link given here for tickets and access.]

What are dreams? Where do they come from? What do they mean and what are they for?

Humanity has been trying to answer these questions for thousands of years. Now we might be close to an answer, thanks to recent research attempting to unravel the relationship between our dreams, our brains, and our minds.

Learn what insights such research is yielding in this interactive, online talk by Antonio Zadra, a leading dream scholar. Drawing upon state-of-the-art neuroscientific ideas and findings as well as his own decades of research on the sleeping brain and the nature of dreams, he’ll show us how even those dreams we can’t remember are psychologically and neurologically important, and also meaningful experiences.

Dr. Zadra will introduce us to the stages and functions of sleep as well as ongoing debates surrounding the possible functions of dreams. He’ll then detail a recent, neuroscientific model of dream function and show us why the human brain needs to dream. Along the way, he’ll explain why memories for dreams are so fragile, why most dreams are infused with bizarreness, and why dreams can feel so real and meaningful. You’ll also learn about lucid dreaming and how dreams can be used for personal insight.

Whether you think dreams are meaningful or pure nonsense, you’ll end up with a deeper appreciation of the wonders surrounding the dreaming brain and, hopefully, with a better understanding of what you see and hear and feel in the Land of Nod.

Profs & Pints Online: What Dreams Are Made Of