Robert Stickgold

Robert Stickgold is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. A preeminent sleep researcher, Dr. Stickgold has dedicated his life to understanding the relationship between sleep and learning. He is also a very active educator. His multiple articles in the popular press are intended to illustrate the dangers of sleep deprivation.

Stickgold was born in Chicago. He graduated from Harvard University before attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he received his doctorate in biochemistry. [ [http://www.pbs.org/safarchive/3_ask/archive/bio/73_rstickgold_bio.html PBS Scientific American Frontiers Bio] ] He worked with the prominent sleep researcher J. Allan Hobson for many years. Stickgold's research has focused on sleep and cognition, dreaming, and conscious states. He has been a major proponent of the role of sleep in memory consolidation. [Stickgold R, Walker MP. Sleep-dependent memory consolidation and reconsolidation. Sleep Med. 2007 Jun;8(4):331-43.] Additional research has focused on dreaming. In one experiment, participants played the computer game Tetris for three days and reported dreaming about falling geometric shapes. Even patients with anterograde amnesia, who did not remember playing the game, had similar dreams as normal participants. [ [http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=tetris-dreams Scientific American, Tetris Dreams] ] Similar results were found in another study utilizing the video game Alpine Racer 2. Participants reported dreaming about skiing. [ [http://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2004/05/23/analyze_this/ The Boston Globe, Analyze This:What sparks our dreams, especially those wacky ones? One man is on the case.] ]

Stickgold currently lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts and has four children.

References

External links

* [http://sleep.med.harvard.edu/people/faculty/220/Robert+Stickgold+PhD Robert Stickgold website]