He received his B.A. from Harvard University and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, both in biochemistry. His current work looks at the nature and function of sleep and dreams from a cognitive neuroscience perspective, with an emphasis on the role of sleep and dreams in memory consolidation and integration. In addition to studying the normal functioning of sleep, he investigates alterations in sleep-dependent memory consolidation in a range of neurological and psychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, Parkinson's disease, cocaine addiction, PTSD, insomnia, and sleep apnea. Stickgold has published over 100 scientific articles and two science fiction novels.