rationalskepticism.org

Taking control of dreams could involve currents
BY REBECCA SMITH, LONDON DAILY TELEGRAPH

Sweet dreams are made of this - electric currents pumped directly into your brain, according to scientists

Researchers in Germany have developed a way of enabling sleepers to control their dreams by applying electric current to the brain which prompts lucid dreams, involving a state of heightened awareness.

This allows the sleeper to recognize they are dreaming and influence what happens next. A similar concept was explored in the hit movie Inception, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. However, unlike the film where DiCaprio's character infiltrates the dreams of others, the study only involved sleepers controlling their own dreams. In ordinary dreams, which occur during the rapid-eye movement (REM) phase of sleep, the dreamer's conscious state usually has no access to past memories or anticipated events in the future, the researchers said. In lucid dreaming, extra cognitive functions are involved such as self-awareness and free will.

This combination of brain activity may enable the dreamer to voluntarily control the dream plot.

While previous research has associated lucid dreaming with increased gamma activity in the frontal and temporal regions of the brain, it has not been clear if the lucid dream triggers extra gamma activity or if the gamma activity is the source of the enhanced dreaming.
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