1. Nighttime Dreams and Video Game Play Jayne Gackenbach Grant MacEwan University

2. Why are dreams important? Rich history across most cultures Royal road to the unconscious – Freud –While opened up dreams as important, he also pathologized them With discovery of REM sleep and the sleep laboratory, dreams entered science While not local only to REM, those that are most recalled and most often puzzled about are typically REM dreams

3. Dreams are Brains at Work While “Off-line” Like a computer which is not in use thus no input (i.e., keyboard, scan, etc) yet CPU still at work During sleep the brain is off line, minimal sensory input, but lots of processing of information ongoing

4. Why are dreams important? Function of dreams increasingly clear –Evolutionary threat/play (Revonsuo; Humphrey) –Emotional Regulation, especially negative emotions (Kramer; Nielsen; Zadra) –Memory integration & consolidation (Stickgold) –Problem-solving, creative inspiration (Barrett) –Metacognition (LaBerge; Kahan; Kahn) All this serves personal and interpersonal needs if shared and processed but need not be as dreams still do their ‘job’ Unobtrusive way to examine psychological processes

5. Media saturated society –Video game play represents the most immersive and interactive media experience Isn’t it all just incorporation? –Yes gamers dream about games –And no, Why study gamers dreams? Gamers dreams may show fundamental structural differences in their dreams

6. Nightmare Protection Immersive VR (Oculus Rift) Parallels to contemplative practices Topics of this symposium