Scientists break through the wall of sleep to the untapped world of dreams
NSF-supported researchers achieve two-way communication with lucidly dreaming people, creating a new method for studying the human mind that might lead to innovative ways of learning and problem-solving. By Jason Stoughton Eight minus six … two”
It’s not exactly “one small step for man,” but that humble mathematical message is extraordinary in its own way. The first part “eight minus six” was transmitted by a scientist to a place just as exotic as the moon yet frequented by each of us. The response “two” came from the mind of a sleeping research subject as he snoozed in a neuroscience laboratory outside Chicago.
Scientists Find a Way to Communicate With Dreaming People
Image: K Konkoly
The veil between dreamworld and reality may be thinner than we thought. In a new study released Thursday, scientists in four countries say they’ve shown it’s possible to communicate with people while they’re lucid dreaming. At least some of the time, the dreamers were reportedly able to respond to yes-or-no questions and answer simple math problems through facial and eye movements; afterward, some recalled hearing the questions during their dream.
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Cognitive neuroscientist and study author Ken Paller and his colleagues at Northwestern University in Chicago have been studying the connection between sleeping and memory for years. It’s commonly thought that sleep is crucial to the robust storage of memories created throughout the day. But little is still understood about this process and how dreams might play a role in it.
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IMAGE: This photo shows Konkoly watching brain signals from a sleeping participant in the lab. Researchers are working to expand and refine two-way communications with sleeping people so more complex conversations. view more
Credit: K. Konkoly
Dreams take us to what feels like a different reality. They also happen while we re fast asleep. So, you might not expect that a person in the midst of a vivid dream would be able to perceive questions and provide answers to them. But a new study reported in the journal
Current Biology on February 18 shows that, in fact, they can. We found that individuals in REM sleep can interact with an experimenter and engage in real-time communication, said senior author Ken Paller (@kap101) of Northwestern University. We also showed that dreamers are capable of comprehending questions, engaging in working-memory operations, and producing answers.
From snoring to sleep walking, many of us do rather unusual things while we re asleep.
Now, a new study has revealed that some lucid dreamers can answer questions and even do maths while they re snoozing.
Lucid dreams are when people experience a state of heightened awareness during sleep that allows them to recognise the dream and control what happens within it.
Researchers in the US asked lucid dreamers maths problems, such as what s eight minus six , and yes-no questions, like do you speak Spanish?
In the experiments, dreamers answered correctly in real time with eye movements or facial muscle signals, demonstrating what s called interactive dreaming .
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