Robert Stickgold is a full professor of
psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psychiatry.
Initial psych ...
at the
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...
and the
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston, Massachusetts is a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. It was formed out of the 1996 merger of Beth Israel Hospital (founded in 1916) and New England Deaconess Hospital (founded ...
. A
sleep
Sleep is a sedentary state of mind and body. It is characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited sensory activity, reduced muscle activity and reduced interactions with surroundings. It is distinguished from wakefulness by a de ...
researcher, his work focuses on the relationship between
sleep and learning
Multiple hypotheses explain the possible connections between sleep and learning in humans. Research indicates that sleep does more than allow the brain to rest; it may also aid the consolidation of long-term memories.
REM sleep and slow-wave slee ...
. His articles in the popular press are intended to illustrate the dangers of
sleep deprivation
Sleep deprivation, also known as sleep insufficiency or sleeplessness, is the condition of not having adequate duration and/or quality of sleep to support decent alertness, performance, and health. It can be either chronic or acute and may vary ...
.
Stickgold was born in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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. He graduated from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
before attending the
University of Wisconsin–Madison
A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...
, where he received his doctorate in biochemistry. He worked with the sleep researcher
J. Allan Hobson for many years and has been known to quote Hobson's quip: "The only known function of sleep is to cure sleepiness". Stickgold's research has focused on sleep and
cognition
Cognition refers to "the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ...
,
dream
A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...
ing, and
conscious states. He has been a proponent of the role of sleep in
memory consolidation
Memory consolidation is a category of processes that stabilize a memory trace after its initial acquisition. A memory trace is a change in the nervous system caused by memorizing something. Consolidation is distinguished into two specific processe ...
. Additional research has focused on dreaming. In one experiment, participants played the computer game
Tetris
''Tetris'' (russian: link=no, Тетрис) is a puzzle video game created by Soviet software engineer Alexey Pajitnov in 1984. It has been published by several companies for multiple platforms, most prominently during a dispute over the approp ...
for three days and reported dreaming about falling geometric shapes—a phenomenon now known as the
Tetris effect
The ''Tetris'' effect (also known as ''Tetris'' syndrome) occurs when people devote so much time and attention to an activity that it begins to pattern their thoughts, mental images, and dreams. It takes its name from the video game ''Tetris''. ...
. Even patients with
anterograde amnesia
In neurology, anterograde amnesia is the inability to create new memories after the event that caused amnesia, leading to a partial or complete inability to recall the recent past, while long-term memories from before the event remain intact. T ...
, who did not remember playing the game, had similar dreams as normal participants. Similar results were found in another study utilizing the video game
Alpine Racer 2
''Alpine Racer 2'' is a 3D computer graphics, 3D alpine skiing arcade game released by Namco in 1996 in video gaming, 1996. It is the sequel to ''Alpine Racer''. Unlike the original, two cabinets can be linked together so that players can race aga ...
. Participants reported dreaming about
skiing
Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...
.
Stickgold lives in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
and has four children.
Dr. Stickgold is also a published science fiction author. In 1973 Robert "Bob" Stickgold had his novelette "Susies Reality" published in the May/June issue of "Worlds of IF Science Fiction" anthology magazine. With Mark Noble, they wrote "Gloryhits" in 1978. And in 1979 "Bob" created "our children will be mutants". And then in 1981 "The California Coven Project" was published.
References
External links
Robert Stickgold, Faculty profile, Harvard Medical SchoolInternet Archive of "Susies Reality" in IF magazine
Living people
Sleep researchers
Oneirologists
Harvard Medical School faculty
Harvard University alumni
University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni
1945 births
American psychiatrists
{{US-psychiatrist-stub