The caudate nucleus, buried beneath the cerebral cortex, is involved in habit formation. Evidence from brain imaging studies suggests that new habits may be established during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, when our most vivid and…
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Recently it has become fashionable to criticize the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) as psychiatry is about to switch over from DSM-4 to DSM-5. Certainly the DSM has its limitations, but these are the limitations of…
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There are two current treatments for PTSD that involve dreams. One treatment is dream revision, the focus of this website. The other treatment is the anti-hypertensive medication, prazosin, which has been shown to block nightmares (as…
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Our everyday lives are filled with sensory information from the outside world and from our own motor behaviors. We can’t possibly remember everything we experience. Our brain helps us select new information worthy of remembering. Such…
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In a medical sense, a trauma is a wound or injury to the body. A trauma center is a place where such bodily injuries are treated. People with severe injuries (from automobile accidents, explosions, fires, etc.) may be flown long…
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In an earlier blog I indicated that dream revision as an antidote for nightmares is an old technique, perhaps even an ancient technique, used to sooth and assist children who awaken with nightmares. In working with PTSD patients, and in…
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Severe life-threatening traumatic events can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a syndrome that includes recurrent nightmares, vivid flashbacks, avoidant behaviors, memory deficits, feelings of detachment, excessive…
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