Allan Hobson
| John Allan Hobson | |
|---|---|
 John Allan Hobson in Göttingen, 2010 |
|
| Born | June 3, 1933 |
| Citizenship | American |
| Fields | Psychiatry and dream research |
| Alma mater | Wesleyan University, Harvard Medical School |
| Known for | Research on Rapid eye movement sleep, Activation-synthesis hypothesis |
John Allan Hobson, M.D. (born June 3, 1933) is an American psychiatrist and dream researcher. He is known for his research on Rapid eye movement sleep. He is Professor of Psychiatry, Emeritus, Harvard Medical School, and Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Biography
Hobson grew up in Hartford, Connecticut.[1] In 1955 he obtained his A.B. degree from Wesleyan University. Four years later he earned his MD degree at Harvard Medical School in 1959.
For the following two years he interned at Bellevue Hospital Center, New York. Then in 1960 he was a resident in Psychiatry at Massachusetts Mental Health Center in Boston for a year. Dr. Hobson then traveled to France where he was a Special Fellow of the National Institute of Mental Health for the Department of Physiology at the University of Lyon.
Upon returning to the United States, he went back to the Psychiatry at Massachusetts Mental Health Center in Boston until 1966.
He worked in numerous hospitals and research laboratories over the years and is currently the Director of the Laboratory of Neurophysiology at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center.[2]
Dr. Hobson has received four awards for his work:[1]
- Admission to the Boylston Medical Society
- The Benjamin Rush Gold Medal for Best Scientific Exhibit
- Honorary member of the American Psychiatric Association since 1978.
- Recipient of the 1998 Distinguished Scientist Award of the Sleep Research Society
Work
Dream theories
Dr. Hobson's research specialty is quantifying mental events and correlating them with quantified brain events, with special reference to waking, sleeping and dreaming. Following the activation-synthesis hypothesis, he believes that dreams are created when random energy signals reach the brain's cortex during REM sleep. The cortex attempts to make sense of the random inputs it is receiving, which causes dreams.[3] Dr. Hobson clearly dismisses the idea that there are deep, nonphysiological, or hidden meanings in dreams. He calls such notions "the mystique of fortune cookie dream interpretation." For years he has proven his theories through lab testing with mice and human subjects.[4]
In addition to his many paid appointments, Dr. Hobson is actively involved with four groups relating to his neurological sleep research: the Society Memberships, the Society for Neuroscience, the Society for Sleep Research, the AAAS, and the International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD), for which he used to be president.[5]
Books
Dr. Hobson has published six books that relate to his mental health and dream research. The following is a complete list:[6]
- 1989, Abnormal States of Brain and Mind
- 1989, Dreaming Brain
- 1989, Sleep
- 1992, Sleep and Dreams
- 1996, The Chemistry of Conscious States: How The Brain Changes Its Mind
- 2000, Dreaming As Delirium: How the Brain Goes Out of Its Mind
- 2002, Dream Drugstore: Chemically Altered States of Consciousness
- 2002, Dreaming: An Introduction to the Science of Sleep
- 2002, Out of Its Mind: Psychiatry in Crisis, a Call for Reform
- 2005, 13 Dreams Freud Never Had
- 2011, Dreaming: A Very Short Introduction
References
- ^ a b Robert, Rose (2004). "Network on Mind Body Interactions". Retrieved 2007-03-25.[dead link]
- ^ Dreifus, Claudia (2002-08-27). "A CONVERSATION WITH/J. Allan Hobson; A Rebel Psychiatrist Calls Out to His Profession". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
- ^ Hagmann, Michael (1998). "The Distiller of Dreams". Archived from the original on 14 February 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
- ^ Magnuson, Jon (2002-08-27). "Are Humans Wired to Dream?". Archived from the original on 22 April 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
- ^ President and Fellows of Harvard College (2006). "Faculty Profile". Archived from the original on 8 March 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
- ^ AddALL.com - browse and compare book price: J. Allan Hobson
External links
- IGS, ISGS, and NYSGS (2003-10-23). "From Mind / Body / Experiencing / Environment To MindBodyExperiencingEnvironment". Retrieved 2007-03-25.
- The Mind Science Foundation (2007). "Tom Slick Research Awards in Consciousness 2005-2006". Archived from the original on 2007-02-28. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
- Division of Sleep Science @ Harvard Medical School (2006). "Faculty Profile: J. Alan Hobson, MD". Retrieved 2010-01-28.
- J. Allan Hobson (2010). "Dreamstage Museum". Archived from the original on 22 December 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-11.
