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