Dream Machine? The idea of a machine recording dreams sounds fanciful but a research team in California is to explore whether it might be possible-at least in a limited way A study by the team suggests that the activity of individual brain cells,or neurons,is associated with specific objects:for example when a volunteer was thinking of the actress Marilyn Monroe-a particular neuron lit up. By showing volunteers a series of images the team was able to identify neurons associated with a wide range of objects and concepts. The next step for the researchers is to see whether they can make sense of the brain waves of sleeping volunteers and if so whether they correlate with the accounts of the volunteers actual dreams. The Mystery of Dreams and Dreaming VOICE ONE: I'm Steve Ember. VOICE TWO: And I'm Barbara Klein with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English.Do you dream?Do you create pictures and stories in your mind as you sleep?Today,we are going to explore dreaming.People have had ideas about the meaning and importance of dreams throughout history.Today brain researchers are learning even more about dreams. (MUSIC) VOICE ONE: Dreams are expressions of thoughts,feelings and events that pass through our mind while we are sleeping.People dream about one to two hours each night.We may have four to seven dreams in one night.Everybody dreams.But only some people remember their dreams. The word "dream"comes from an old word in English that means "joy"and "music." Our dreams often include all the senses-smells,sounds,sights,tastes and things we touch.We dream in color.Sometimes we dream the same dream over and over again. These repeated dreams are often unpleasant.They may even be nightmares--bad dreams that frighten us
Dream Machine? The idea of a machine recording dreams sounds fanciful but a research team in California is to explore whether it might be possible - at least in a limited way. A study by the team suggests that the activity of individual brain cells, or neurons, is associated with specific objects: for example when a volunteer was thinking of the actress Marilyn Monroe - a particular neuron lit up. By showing volunteers a series of images the team was able to identify neurons associated with a wide range of objects and concepts. The next step for the researchers is to see whether they can make sense of the brain waves of sleeping volunteers and if so whether they correlate with the accounts of the volunteers actual dreams. The Mystery of Dreams and Dreaming VOICE ONE: I'm Steve Ember. VOICE TWO: And I'm Barbara Klein with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Do you dream? Do you create pictures and stories in your mind as you sleep? Today, we are going to explore dreaming. People have had ideas about the meaning and importance of dreams throughout history. Today brain researchers are learning even more about dreams. (MUSIC) VOICE ONE: Dreams are expressions of thoughts, feelings and events that pass through our mind while we are sleeping. People dream about one to two hours each night. We may have four to seven dreams in one night. Everybody dreams. But only some people remember their dreams. The word "dream" comes from an old word in English that means "joy" and "music." Our dreams often include all the senses – smells, sounds, sights, tastes and things we touch. We dream in color. Sometimes we dream the same dream over and over again. These repeated dreams are often unpleasant. They may even be nightmares -- bad dreams that frighten us
VOICETWO: Artists,writers and scientists sometimes say they get ideas from dreams.For example,the singer Paul McCartney of the Beatles said he awakened one day with the music for the song "Yesterday"in his head.The writer Mary Shelley said she had a very strong dream about a scientist using a machine to make a creature come alive. When she awakened,she began to write her book about a scientist named Frankenstein who creates a frightening monster. VOICE ONE: People have been trying to decide what dreams mean for thousands of years.Ancient Greeks and Romans believed dreams provided messages from the gods.Sometimes people who could understand dreams would help military leaders in battle. In ancient Egypt,people who could explain dreams were believed to be special.In the Christian Bible,there are more than seven hundred comments or stories about dreams.In China,people believed that dreams were a way to visit with family members who had died.Some Native American tribes and Mexican civilizations believed dreams were a different world we visit when we sleep. In Europe,people believed that dreams were evil and could lead people to do bad things.Two hundred years ago,people awakened after 4 or 5 hours of sleep to think about their dreams or talk about them with other people.Then they returned to sleep for another four to five hours
VOICE TWO: Artists, writers and scientists sometimes say they get ideas from dreams. For example, the singer Paul McCartney of the Beatles said he awakened one day with the music for the song "Yesterday" in his head. The writer Mary Shelley said she had a very strong dream about a scientist using a machine to make a creature come alive. When she awakened, she began to write her book about a scientist named Frankenstein who creates a frightening monster. VOICE ONE: People have been trying to decide what dreams mean for thousands of years. Ancient Greeks and Romans believed dreams provided messages from the gods. Sometimes people who could understand dreams would help military leaders in battle. In ancient Egypt, people who could explain dreams were believed to be special. In the Christian Bible, there are more than seven hundred comments or stories about dreams. In China, people believed that dreams were a way to visit with family members who had died. Some Native American tribes and Mexican civilizations believed dreams were a different world we visit when we sleep. In Europe, people believed that dreams were evil and could lead people to do bad things. Two hundred years ago, people awakened after 4 or 5 hours of sleep to think about their dreams or talk about them with other people. Then they returned to sleep for another four to five hours
