Introduction: Our Unconscious Logic xi
1. What Do The Blind See When They Dream? 3
On Perception, Dreams, and the Creation of the External World
Filling in the Gaps
The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of
Down the Rabbit Hole
A Vision for the Sightless
Luke Skywalker Lives in Your Temporal Lobe
A Corridor of Sound
The Dream Machine
2. Can Zombies Drive to Work? 38
On Habit, Self Control, and the Possibility of Human Automatism
Zombies among Us
Vision without Seeing
Mice in a Plus-Maze
Focusing by Being Unfocused
How to Identify a Fake Smile
Why We Forget to Pick Up a Gallon of Milk
Why Do We Eat When We're Not Hungry?
Executive Dysfunction
Murder on Autopilot
Two Systems for Multitasking
3. Can Your Imagination Make You A Better Athlete? 71
On Motor Control, Learning, and the Power of Mental Simulation
The Internal Simulator
Flexing Mental Muscle
PETTLEP
Insights from Stroke
How Do You Scratch a Phantom Itch?
Neuronal Mirrors
Why Is Yawning Contagious?
Empathy, Pornography, and the Autism Spectrum
Gut Feelings
4. Can We Remember Things That Never Happened? 99
On Memory, Emotion, and the Egocentric Brain
A Web of Snapshots
The Brains of Rival Sports Fans
Why Do We Remember Where We Were on 9/11?
Brains in Midtown and Downtown
Ignorance Is Bliss
"It's Not a Lie If You Believe It"
Fairy Tales in the Confabulating Brain
5. Why Do People Believe In Alien Abductions? 127
On Paranormal Experience, Narrative, and the Development of Strange Beliefs
"I Was Abducted by Aliens!"
Sleep Paralysis
Afraid of Your Shadow?
Conversations with God
The Walking Dead
Cheating on Your Wife-with Your Wife?
Visions from the Brink
Fighter Pilots and Heart Attack Victims
Hostage Hallucinations
Attack of the "Old Hag"
6. Why Do Schizophrenics Hear Voices? 149
On Language, Hallucinations, and the Self/Nonself Distinction
Whispers from the Microphone
"He Can't Speak If I Interrupt Him"
"Someone Else Is Speaking Whenever I Speak"
How Are People Similar to Electric Fish?
System Failure
Can the Deaf Hear Voices in Their Heads?
A Disorder of Self-Monitoring
Why Can't You Tickle Yourself?
Déjà Vu
7. Can Someone Be Hypnotized to Commit Murder? 178
On Attention, Influence, and the Power of Subconscious Suggestion
You Are Getting Very Sleepy
The Cocktail Party Effect
Overcoming the Stroop Effect
Eat Popcorn, Drink Coca-Cola
Invisible Faces
Brand Names in the Brain
When the Brain Makes Excuses
"The Knife Went In"
One Brain, Two Systems
8. Why Can't Split Personalities Share Prescription Classes? 210
On Personality, Trauma, and the Defense of the Self
Finding One Self
A Brain Divided
See No Evil
The Fragmentation of the Mind
The Hypnotist Within
An Eye for an I
NeuroLogic
Appendix: Maps of the Brain 241
Acknowledgments 247
Notes 249
Bibliography 263
Index 287