Dreaming and Memory. A New Information-Processing Model: By Stanley R. Palombo, M.D. New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1978. 237 pp.

This is a book whose aim, the author says, is to go beyond the traditional psychoanalytic theory of dreams as formulated by Freud. Palombo wishes to "enlarge" this theoretical framework by allowing "the research findings of dream physiology and the recent contributions of information theory and cognitive psychology to fit comfortably within it, not to mention the work of the dream physiologists who have labored all along outside the theoretical boundaries set by Freud and his direct successors in the psychoanalytic world" (p. 10). The author has formulated a new model for the function of dreaming, which, whether or not it may "fit comfortably" within Freud's theoretical framework, translates the language of psychoanalysis into terms compatible with information theory. Palombo concedes that those unfamiliar with information theory—this reviewer is one such—will be substantially assisted in understanding his thesis if they are conversant with the work of others in this field (he mentions Peterfreund and Rosenblatt and Thickstun).

The model is based upon the assumption of the existence of a permanent associative memory structure or "tree." From the beginning of life, experiential information is stored in "adaptively suitable" locations within this memory structure. The storing of information is a two-step process: experiences that have "significant meaning" are selected from a short-term memory structure for storage